Pictured: LeBron James and Canyon Dreams book cover
Netflix’s upcoming sports drama movie Rez Ball is seeking Native American Basketball Players after a public casting call was issued online.
The movie Rez Ball was first announced by Netflix in August 2021, and since that initial announcement, all has been quiet.
The film is based on the sports non-fiction novel Canyon Dreams by Michael Powell and a New York Times article that preceded it. Rezball is short for “reservation ball,” the Native American version of basketball.
The project, which centers around The Chuska Warriors, is being developed by the same team behind the Adam Sandler-led 2021 basketball movie, Hustle. LeBron James is producing with The SpringHill Company and Wise Entertainment.
Sydney Freeland serves as writer and director, with Sterlin Harjo co-writing.
Via the casting call (seen below), it states that your availability for the production takes place between March and June 2023. Multiple listings suggest that the movie was scheduled to be filmed much earlier, it’s worth noting. USACastingNews noted that the shoot date was originally planned for January 2022.
Casting calls are generally kept behind the scenes except in rare occurrences. The Crown has been one of the biggest Netflix productions to issue casting calls, such as when it was looking for a young Prince Harry.
In an announcement on Instagram, Midthunder Casting (helmed by Angelique Midthunder) issued the public open casting call with a picture and caption that reads as follows:
“NETFLIX feature film REZ BALL from producers LEBRON JAMES / The Springhill Company (HUSTLE) & Wise Entertainment (EAST LOS HIGH), with writer director Sydney Freeland & co-written by Sterlin Harjo (RESERVATION DOGS) is SEEKING REAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS to play NATIVE AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYERS in SPEAKING ROLES!
See flyer for more information & how to apply.
No acting experience necessary”
Casting call for Netflix’s Rez Ball
We’ll keep our Rez Ball preview up-to-date with any new developments surrounding the project in the coming months.