Coming this winter, Ciara and Russell Wilson, with the help of their production company, Why Not You Productions, will bring Sarah Rector’s story to life on screen, with Sarah’s Oil. In the 1900s, Rector became America’s first Black female millionaire at just 11 years old.
According to Deadline, the film is inspired by Tonya Bolden’s book Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America. The film will follow Rector, who was born in Oklahoma Indian Territory and “believes there is oil beneath the barren land she’s allotted and whose faith is proven right. As greedy oil sharks close in, Sarah turns to her family, friends, and some Texas wildcatters to maintain control of her oil-rich land,” per the film’s synopsis.
Alongside Ciara and Russell, Wyldwood’s Sherry Kang, Kingdom Story Company’s Tony Young and Katelyn Botsch, and Robert Scott Fort are also credited as executive producers, Deadline reports.
Zachary Levi and Naya Desir-Johnson (The Equalizer) are set to star as the film’s leads. Other cast members featured in the Amazon MGM Studios project include Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery), Garret Dillahunt (Raising Hope), Bridget Regan (Jane the Virgin), Kenric Green (The Walking Dead), Adyan Copes (Who Is Christmas Eve?), Stelio Savante (The Cleaning Lady), and Mel Rodriguez (The Last Man on Earth).
“Sarah’s Oil is a film that is truly a labor of love,” Julie Rapaport, Head of Film, Production and Development at Amazon MGM Studios, told Deadline. “We’re honored to take part in telling the inspiring true story of Sarah Rector, and we cannot wait for audiences to experience it on the big screen.”
Ciara shared the film’s official trailer on her Instagram, writing in the caption, “Remember her name…Sarah. Let’s share her faith-based story with the world!” Sarah’s Oil is scheduled to be released in theaters on December 25, 2025.
