‘The Black Watch’ Breaks Down Zazie Beetz’ ‘They Will Kill You’

A missing sister, a sinister skyscraper, and a suspected satanic cult set the stage for plenty of pulse-pounding action, and BOSSIP and Cassius are weighing in.

Today (June 5), the brands released a new episode of The Black Watch, an editorial-led series examining the biggest cultural moments in film and entertainment.

The latest installment of the series brings together BOSSIP’s Managing Editor Dani Canada, iONE Digital Director of Content for the Men’s Division Alvin Blanco, executive producer Serita Wesley, and comedian-writer Richard Jones for a candid conversation about They Will Kill You, the 2026 action-horror film starring Zazie Beetz as an ex-convict on a dangerous mission to find her estranged sister after she vanishes inside a mysterious New York City high-rise.

“How far would you go to get your sister back if you thought she had been recruited by a satanic cult?” Dani asks while kicking off the discussion. “Zazie Beetz answers that question to the fullest in her latest film, They Will Kill You.”

The film follows an ex-convict played by Beetz who embarks on a dangerous mission to find her estranged sister, who was last seen inside a mysterious New York City high-rise.

For Alvin, the film had his attention long before he pressed play.

“I was in from the trailer,” he says. “I knew she was going to get get busy, but then, when I start watching the movie, I was like, okay, what are we doing here? I liked it.”

The panel spent much of the discussion dissecting the film’s action sequences, particularly Beetz’s gritty, bruising fighting style and a standout fire axe scene.

Alvin praised the realism of the action, noting that, unlike many action heroes, Beetz’s character actually feels the physical toll of battle.

“I was thoroughly entertained,” he says. “I loved the fight footage. One thing I also like about it, and I think about Daredevil when it was on Netflix, like, yeah, she’s fighting, but she’s actually getting tired. She’s actually taking hits and getting her a** whooped, but she’s still coming back and kicking a** in her own way.”

He added that there was something particularly satisfying about seeing a Black woman dominate the screen in an action-heavy role.

“With all the nonsense in the news about Black women being killed, to see Black women kicking a** on the big screen, I loved it,” Alvin says. “Thoroughly loved that part.”

The conversation eventually took an unexpected detour when Richard brought up one of the film’s most unusual recurring visuals.

“Zazie Beetz’s feet stole the show,” he jokes. “They were all over the movie. It was weird. It was weird how much we saw her feet.”

Serita, however, wasn’t bothered by it.

“I liked the feet,” she says with a laugh. “I thought it was like a raw fighting style. I’m coming in here, I’m kicking people’s a****. I don’t need shoes. I don’t need none of that.”

She did admit there was one detail that stretched her suspension of disbelief.

“I didn’t want to see her slipping on blood more,” Serita adds. “Because I’m like, if you’re barefoot, you’re definitely gonna be slipping on blood. But I mean, she was whooping a**.”

“She was whooping a** in her drawls,” Dani adds.

The panel also weighed in on the supporting cast, which includes Heather Graham, Patricia Arquette, and Tom Felton, best known to many fans as Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter franchise.

“What do we think about the supporting cast like Heather Graham and Patricia Arquette?” Dani asks.

Richard admits he was surprised by how quickly some of the film’s recognizable faces appeared.

“They pulled Heather Graham and Draco Malfoy out of the walls,” he jokes. “I was like, they really gonna waste them in the first 20 minutes?!”

Serita, meanwhile, made it clear she will always have a soft spot for Patricia Arquette.

“I’m a Patricia Arquette stan,” she says. “There’s not much that she can do that’s wrong to me. I love me some Patricia Arquette.”

She added that Arquette’s recent roles have taken on a noticeably eerie quality.

“She’s so creepy,” Serita says. “And it’s unintentional because she used to be a hottie. But now, for some reason, all her characters are kind of a little bit creepy. And that voice!”

Richard agreed.

“I’ve been rocking with Patricia Arquette since A Nightmare on Elm Street,” he says. “I’m right there with you.”

The comedian also praised the overall energy of the production.

“It seems like everybody really had fun making this movie,” he says. “That’s what it looked like on screen. It’s like everybody just had so much fun.”

Dani highlighted another aspect of the film that impressed her: the production design.

“I thought it was interesting,” she says. “This was actually filmed in Cape Town, and they set it up to look like it was in New York City. They built these elaborate modular sets.”

The setting itself became one of the film’s most effective characters.

“The whole thing was creepy from top to bottom,” Dani adds. “They’re in this big-a** building and then the maids turned out to be in on it too. I was like, ‘This is like The Help, but scary as f***!’”

The conversation also focused on Beetz’s evolution as a performer and whether the actress has officially entered her action-star era.

Dani admitted the role was a departure from what many viewers have come to expect from the actress.

“I don’t think I expected her to be a big action star,” Dani says. “We see her in quirky film roles. Atlanta, of course, comes to mind first for me. But I was like, okay, okay, action-packed Zazie Beetz.”

Alvin was quick to remind the group that Beetz has shown flashes of action-star potential before.

“She was getting busy in Deadpool, too,” he says. “And even in Atlanta, she had the big old dry bread she was whooping a** with.”

The group also reflected on Beetz’s eclectic career path, touching on her upbringing between Berlin and New York City, her multilingual background, and her training at New York’s famed LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.

The discussion also touched on Beetz’s openness about experiencing anxiety and imposter syndrome despite starring on one of television’s most acclaimed series, with the panel noting how her willingness to take risks has helped her build one of Hollywood’s most versatile résumés.

As the episode wrapped, the group debated what kind of roles they would like to see Beetz tackle next, while agreeing that They Will Kill You showcases yet another dimension of the actress’s range.

Check out the latest episode of The Black Watch below.