David Oyelowo has played some very personal roles before, but he really had to rise to the occasion for his new title on the 2026 movie schedule, Newborn. A psychological thriller, the film sees Oyelowo play Chris Newborn, a man who attempts to readjust to society after spending seven years in solitary confinement for a crime he didn’t commit. Director Nate Parker penned this original screenplay, but it was also inspired, in part, by one man’s actual experiences, which Oyelowo discussed with CinemaBlend.
Parker’s film isn’t a direct true crime film, though it is partially influenced by the story of Richard Rosario. In 1996, Rosario began serving a 25-years-to-life sentence for a murder he insisted he didn’t commit, and he also asserted he had 13 alibi witnesses. In 2016, though, after Rosario had been incarcerated for 20 years, a judge ruled that he hadn’t received a fair trial, and he was released from custody. When I recently spoke with David Oyelowo about Newborn, he laid out how Rosario became involved with the production:
