Power Rangers Actor RJ Cyler To Star In White Boy Rick

The young actor who gave '90s kids and Power Rangers lovers a new-and-improved Blue Ranger in the reboot flick has his sights set on quite a different project.

Variety reports that RJ Cyler has been cast in White Boy Rick, an upcoming crime drama from Columbia Pictures and Sony-Studio 8. Cyler will portray a drug dealer named Rudell Curry, and will be joined by newcomer Richie Merritt as Richard "Ricky" Wershe Jr., who casting directors reportedly discovered in Baltimore during an "extensive nationwide talent search." Matthew McConaughey will play Ricky's father.

Cyler will act alongside Fist Fight actress Kyanna Simone Simpson, Jennifer Jason Leigh as a yet-unnamed FBI agent and confidential informant, Rory Cochrane as an informant named Byrd, and Brian Tyree Henry as a narcotics detective. Bruce Dern, Piper Laurie, and Bel Powley round out the main cast as Ricky's grandparents and daughter, respectively.

Directed by Yann Demange, the film is set in 1980s Detroit, during a time when the city was ravaged by a crack-cocaine epidemic, and it tells the real-life story of Ricky at the beginning of his drug-slinging career at age 14.

White Boy Rick is set for release on January 12, 2018. Gear up for the year ahead with other movies we can't wait to see in 2018.