EXCLUSIVE: Viola Davis (Fences, The Woman King) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen, Aquaman) are set to star and produce in a reimagining of the 1987 MGM feature film House of Games, which is in development at Amazon MGM Studios. The actors will produce through their respective production banners, Davis for Juvee Productions and Abdul-Mateen II for House Eleven10.
David Mamet wrote the original feature, which also served as his directorial debut. It follows psychiatrist Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse), who gets caught up in the world of gambling while trying to help one of her patients, Mike Mancuso (Joe Mantegna), deal with anxiety.
In 2017, Davis was named by Time 100 as one of the world’s most influential people and, in 2022, was honored with the Public Counsel’s William O Douglas Award for her commitment to social justice causes. Davis received the Cecil B. DeMille honor at the 2025 Golden Globes and will be inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame this summer. Davis has partnered with multiple programs to eradicate childhood hunger in the U.S. and recently launched the Davis-Tennon Foundation. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Davis received an Honorary Doctorate during its 109th Commencement Ceremony and also holds an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from her alma mater, Rhode Island College. Davis received the Cecil B. DeMille honor at the 2025 Golden Globes and will be inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame this summer.
Abdul-Mateen II stars next in the title role of Marvel’s Wonder Man to be released on Disney+ in December, and thereafter as the executive producer and leading role in Netflix’s thriller series Man on Fire, based on A.J. Quinnell’s first two novels. Other projects on the horizon include By Any Means, By All, Emergency Contact, The Scent of Burnt Flowers, and I Helped Destroy People. An Emmy award-winner for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his role in HBO’s Watchmen, Abdul-Mateen II has received additional critical acclaim for his roles in The Trial of the Chicago 7 and First Match. Additional previous credits include Aquaman and Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, Candyman, Ambulance, Us, The Greatest Showman, Black Mirror, and The Handmaid’s Tale. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is represented by M88, WME and Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett and Kole.
JuVee Productions is an artist-driven production company that develops and produces film, television, theater, audio, and digital content across all spaces of narrative entertainment worldwide. The company seeks to produce economical yet premium, sophisticated, and character-driven stories such as the widely acclaimed The Woman King, Troop Zero, The Last Defense, The First Lady, and the action thriller G20, among others. JuVee Productions focuses on producing narratives from a diverse range of emerging and established voices.
House Eleven10 is the production company founded by Emmy Award-winning actor Abdul-Mateen II, and run by executive Andrew Fischel. The company’s name pays homage to Yahya’s childhood home in Oakland, California. House Eleven10 employs a creative process that makes space for magic and humanity, crafting entertaining narratives across genres and championing the visions of underrepresented creative collaborators. Projects in development include Ghostman with Sony Pictures Television, where the company is under a first-look deal; the whistle-blowing thriller I Helped Destroy People at Amazon MGM Studios, based on Janet Reitman’s New York Times article, and Blitz Bazawule’s The Scent of Burnt Flowers at FX.
