In every edition of CCXP, a Brazilian artist is honored for their contribution to the art industry and for expanding the country’s talent beyond its borders. This year, acclaimed filmmaker Fernando Meirelles was the honoree whose work was celebrated. As he took to the Thunder Stage to be interviewed, the director revealed some projects that we can look forward to checking out. The biggest and most exciting one is, of course, the sequel series to the Academy Award-nominated movie City of God.

Released in 2002, the acclaimed drama exposed the cruel world in which the poor and Black communities are forced to live in. The movie was praised for commenting on the fact that kids who are born into the comunidades (slums) receive little to no attention from the government, and have to endure extreme violence in all forms in order to survive. However, it’s been 20 years since the movie was released, and Brazil has changed a lot since then – and the City of God series will set out to reflect that.

That the problems highlighted by City of God are not over. Racism is still a very real and structural issue in Brazil, and people who are born into the comunidades are still victims of constant prejudice. The difference now is that more people acknowledge the problem, and make it a point of destigmatizing those communities. As Meirelles himself puts it, City of God “talked about the shortcomings of the comunidades. This time, it's going to be about the power of those comunidades." Collider can tell you that the City of God series is being developed by HBO Max right now. The scripts are being finished, and the streamer plans to film it in 2023.

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Image via Miramax Films

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Fernando Meirelles Wants to Dive Into The Superhero World

Meirelles also talked about another project that he’s been trying to get off the ground for years. Titled Cidadão Incomum (Uncommon Citizen), the series would be based on a novel about Brazilian superheroes. The story centers around a struggling actor who wakes up one day to discover he has superpowers. He then decides to play the part of his life: A superhero. The novel spawned a six-issue comic book story, and Meirelles wishes to focus on this follow-up series. However, the director revealed he’s been finding it hard to convince streaming platforms to finance the project.

Aside from City of God, Meirelles is known internationally for taking on projects that expose serious world issues from across the globe. In The Constant Gardener, for example, the director told the story of the infuriating way that pharmaceutical companies used people from African countries to perform clinical trials without being clear about the terms of their informed consent. Recently, Meirelles directed the acclaimed Netflix film The Two Popes, which got nominated for three Academy Awards.

You can check out the trailer for City of God below: