David Oyelowo will play Randall in Little Five, a 20th Century Studios feature set at Indiana University in the early 1980s, according to Deadline. Randall is a former cycling champion whose own ambitions were left unfinished. The role draws him back into the sport as an unlikely mentor to the film’s central group of young women.
Directed by Ian Samuels (Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, The Map of Tiny Perfect Things) from a screenplay by Gillian Williams and Paul Shoulberg, the project is produced by Anne Hathaway’s Somewhere Pictures alongside Pigasus Pictures for 20th Century Studios. Williams makes her debut as a feature screenwriter on the project.
Oyelowo joins a cast that includes Ariana Greenblatt and Rain Spencer in the lead roles, with Sasha Frolova as Ingrid, Nadia Alexander as Josie, Drew Powell as Will, and Max Cortezi rounding out the ensemble.
Little Five takes its name from the Women’s Little 500 race, an annual collegiate cycling event at Indiana University in Bloomington. The film follows four young women who stake a claim in one of America’s most storied sporting traditions. Oyelowo’s Randall stands at the intersection of their ambition and the institution they’re pushing against.
For Oyelowo, the role extends a decade of prestige lead work. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma (2014) and received an OBE in 2016. A second Golden Globe nomination followed in 2024 for the Paramount+ western series Lawmen: Bass Reeves.
