A cursory glance at Chiwetel Ejiofor's upcoming films — a superhero franchise ("Venom: The Last Dance"), a beloved rom-com return ("Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy"), a Stephen King adaptation (Mike Flanagan's "The Life of Chuck") and an A-list directorial debut (Scarlett Johansson's "Eleanor the Great") — hints at a crazy-hectic work schedule ahead for the actor.

But even as he’s busy in front of the camera, the Brit — best known for roles in films like “12 Years a Slave,” “Love, Actually” and “Doctor Strange” — has somehow found time behind the scenes. Six years after his critically acclaimed directorial debut, “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” he returns with his second feature, “Rob Peace,” out Friday from Paramount.

Adapted from Jeff Hobb's 2014 book "The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace," the film tells the true story of Peace (played by newcomer Jay Will), a scientifically gifted boy growing up in Orange, N.J. who would go on to study biochemistry at Yale. Despite showing incredible promise, Peace struggled to navigate various institutional hurdles related to race, housing, education, and criminal justice. While at Yale, he sold marijuana to help his father, Skeet (played by Ejiofor), expunge a double murder conviction, and Peace would later be killed in a drug-related shooting at age 30.

While Ejiofor wasn’t actively looking for a second feature to direct, the opportunity to tackle this story — one with “something very rich to grapple with,” he says — was one he couldn’t pass up. One of his first casting decisions was Mary J. Blige as Rob’s mother, Jackie Peace. As it turns out, it was Blige’s dedication to the film that proved “instrumental” in bringing it back to prominence after the project was shut down in pre-production due to the pandemic.