Marshall (2017) May 2026

Set in conservative Bridgeport, Connecticut, the story follows young Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) as he travels for the NAACP to defend Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown). Because the trial judge refuses to let Marshall, an out-of-state attorney, speak in court, he is forced to partner with Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), a local Jewish insurance lawyer with no criminal trial experience. The two must navigate a hostile, segregationist environment and overcome deep-seated racial and anti-Semitic prejudices to build their defense.

The 2017 film is a biographical legal drama that chronicles a pivotal early case in the career of Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice. Unlike a broad biopic, the film focuses specifically on the 1941 case of State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell , in which Marshall defends a Black chauffeur accused of raping his wealthy white employer. Plot Overview Marshall (2017)