*Actor Joe Sikora took to Instagram on Saturday to celebrate the premiere of “Power Book IV: Force,” the new spinoff from the “Power” franchise produced by Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson.
The spinoff finds Sikora reprising his role of Tommy Egan from the original series.
“It’s here. February 6th,” Sikora wrote in the caption of his IG. “This was day ONE of filming. Thank you God. I want EVERYONE to let me know what you think. TOMMY. IS. BACK.”
“Power Book IV: Force” follows fan-favorite character Tommy Egan after he cuts ties and puts New York in his rearview mirror for good. As Tommy leaves New York after losing Ghost, LaKeisha and the only city he’s ever known, he makes a quick detour to close an old wound that’s been haunting him for decades. What was supposed to be a quick stop turns into a labyrinth of family secrets and lies Tommy thought were long buried.
One step leads to another and Tommy quickly finds himself in Chicago’s drug game, inserting himself between the city’s two biggest crews. In a city divided by race, Tommy straddles the line, ultimately becoming the lynchpin that not only unites them – but holds the POWER to watch them crumble. As the first season unfolds at breakneck speed, Tommy uses his outsider status to his advantage, breaking all the local rules and rewriting them on his quest to become the biggest drug dealer in Chicago.
READ MORE: Joseph Sikora Drops ‘Power Book IV Force’ Gems Ahead of Series Premiere [EUR Exclusive]
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“He lost his brother Ghost. He lost the woman he loves, Holly, and their unborn child. He lost Keisha. His mother is non-existent,” Sikora previously told PEOPLE. “We’ve always seen Tommy with something. We’ve seen what he hates, but also what he loves — and he’s lost both. He’s lost any connection he’s had. Everybody [is] against him and he’s burned a lot of bridges. … He knows there is no return to New York. He can only go forward.”
The Chicago-born actor starred in “Power” since its premiere in 2015. Created by Courtney A. Kemp in collaboration with 50 Cent, the show has spawned the spinoff “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” and the upcoming final installment “Power Book V: Influence.”
“For me, it’s very exciting,” 50 Cent told EURweb’s Ny MaGee during the Starz panel during TCA, about the massive success of the “Powerverse”.
“So you’re aware, I was receiving $17,000 per episode in the beginning of “Power” while being the executive producer, actually playing a reoccurring character in Kanan, and being the strongest marketing for the actual show. Because at that point, they didn’t identify with the talent that was on the show at that point,” Jackson explained.
“So I had to do everything, as far as the marketing was concerned. And then as it developed, I wanted this project to exist, and I wanted to be able to make music work with it, the same way the audience will have a fit if you try and change the theme song. Those musical connections that are there are a big part of it, also,” he continued.
“And then, we’ll have viral moments where they’re singing the song because of what happens in the scene, not because of what the song is saying, but that attachment to it. Because music would be the place that they cut corners in at the end. The entire production’s been done, now the director put his dream sequence of musical things under the bit of his rough cut. But then the music supervisor comes in and does something that makes sense financially and finds things that match tone-wise that probably wouldn’t sell on iTunes at the moment,” the rapper, producer, and entrepreneur explained.
“So the idea was to make this show where the actual cinematography had quality music under it that gave a more intense perspective and journey, so you experienced it different because of how good it was. And it worked out. I can go to a nightclub and wave and get more money than I was paid to be a part of this series in the very beginning,” 50 Cent admitted. “And then, it developed and turned into a business that was worthwhile because it was such a success that I was able to do the spinoffs and do everything else that came following the success of the project. And being able to identify with talent early on — it’s a talent to be able to identify with talent, you know? So seeing Joe — very early on, he’ll tell you during the “Power” experience before all of that, I was telling him we’re gonna end up here on IV.
Sikora chimed in with, “Yeah, Fif told me really early on about you’ve got an opportunity here but also to stay in your lane. And by stay in your lane, it wasn’t just — it wasn’t a scolding or an admonishing. It was saying, hey man, you’re here as an actor. I believe in you as an actor. And he, as a boss, is a dream boss in the way that he elevates and encourages and doesn’t need to separate himself from you to show that he’s in a position of power. He just is in that position of power, and he encourages you to bring your A game every time,” the actor explained.
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Sikora continued, “Also, his predictions were incredibly accurate, so you can’t deny it. He said the show was gonna go seven seasons. We went 6-1/2, technically a seven-year show. He said, “Listen, your show’s gonna come.” I was like, “Is it gonna come? It’s been a year.” He’s like, “Relax, it’s gonna come.” And then, “Fif, it’s been two years.” And he’s like, “Relax. It’s still coming.” But this is a dream for me because to play a character for eight years, you get into such minutiae of character development that it’s a dream for an actor,” said Sikora.
He added, “Where we find Tommy at the beginning of Power Book IV: Force is at the end of not only the Power show but also Power Book II: Ghost. So we saw Tommy in that environment, too, but now we see him with absolutely nothing. So as an actor, what an incredible opportunity to have this very full fleshed-out character, very complex character now have absolutely nothing. A duffel bag full of money, a couple of guns, a couple of changes of clothes, and then just the shirt on his back and the gumption to survive. And I think that this survival technique speaks to us so intrinsically as human beings that that’s the transcendent that we can see and follow with Tommy throughout this show for however many years we go. Let’s say five.”
“Power Book IV: Force” airs Sundays on Starz. The first episode is currently available to stream on the Starz app.
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