Shaka King, who directed Judas And The Black Messiah, has described the plot pitched to him by the Lucas Brothers, who co-wrote the screenplay, as “The Departed set inside the world of COINTELPRO.”

COINTELPRO was of course the FBI’s program to infiltrate and discredit anti-war and civil rights organizations (including the stated goal of preventing a “Black Messiah” from uniting them all, as referenced in the title). In this case, it led to the execution-style killing of Fred Hampton during a police raid. Daniel Kaluuya plays Hampton in the film.