Shaka King's Judas and the Black Messiah traces the leadup to the assassination of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party. But it's not the only recent film to feature the revolutionary socialist, as he appeared in Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 as well. The latter film also features Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale, who is briefly mentioned in Judas and the Black Messiah.

The events of Judas and the Black Messiah, which released in theaters and on HBO Max last Friday, take place just a few months after those of The Trial of the Chicago 7, which debuted on Netflix in the fall of 2020. Both films deal with the political turmoil of Chicago and, by extension, the United States at large in the late 1960s. Both Hampton and Bobby Seale were instrumental in the radical movements that defined the era, although King and Sorkin deal with the activists' legacies in slightly different ways.

Related: Why Judas & The Black Messiah's Reviews Are So Positive

Bobby Seale never actually appears in Judas and the Black Messiah, as the film's events coincide with Seale's time in prison. As depicted in The Trial of the Chicago 7, Seale was sentenced to four years in prison for contempt of court by Judge Julius Hoffman. Seale was the eighth defendant in the titular trial, but was removed from the trial due to his repeated outbursts, not to mention his lack of involvement with the planning of the protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Judge Hoffman was brutally racist towards Seale throughout the trial, even having the young activist bound and gagged in the middle of the courtroom. Judas and the Black Messiah briefly includes a sketch of this horrific sight, as two racist detectives laugh at the depiction.

daniel kaluuya as fred hampton

Despite eventually getting severed from the trial, Seale spent two months getting tortured and belittled inside Hoffman's courtroom. Fred Hampton, however, was there to support his friend and mentor throughout. Sorkin's film cast Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Hampton, an actor five years younger than Daniel Kaluuya, who plays the chairman in Judas and the Black Messiah. Kaluuya has already received widespread acclaim for his performance, and deservedly so. However, he is considerably older than Hampton, who was just 21 years old when he was killed. Harrison Jr. may not have played a huge role in The Trial of the Chicago 7, but the contrast between the two performances has led some to question the accuracy of Kaluuya's casting.

Of course, Judas and the Black Messiah is clearly the more politically-minded of the two films. Whereas The Trial of the Chicago 7 strived to humanize those on all sides of its conflict, Judas and the Black Messiah remains unequivocally on the side of the Black Panther Party. The film rightfully demonizes the FBI and all others involved in suppressing the Black Panther Party's political efforts. To its credit, The Trial of the Chicago 7 does celebrate the efforts of its central activists, but it also accepts small moral victories over any sort of systemic change, something Hampton and other members of the Black Panther Party specifically take issue with in Judas and the Black Messiah.

As a black man, director Shaka King was able to inject Judas and the Black Messiah with a sense of frustration that Aaron Sorkin couldn't. Still, the overlap between the two films speaks to the unfortunate role that racial and political unrest continue to play in the United States.

Next: Judas & The Black Messiah True Story: Biggest Changes to Hampton & O'Neal