It stars John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx (who also serves as a producer) as an unlikely trio uncovering a shadow government cloning conspiracy.
After finding that the entrance to the lab has disappeared the following morning, the trio heads to a fried chicken restaurant, where the diners are all laughing, making Slick realize that the food contains the same substance that he consumed previously.
Finding a hidden elevator within a church altar, the trio enter an underground lab facility that spans the entire Glen area and witness Black people being subject to disturbing behavioral experiments.
Nixon reveals that scientists conduct experiments on impoverished, predominantly Black populations such as the Glen, to allow the operation to go unnoticed and supposedly achieve peace in America.
[3] In February 2019, it was announced that Brian Tyree Henry was in negotiations to star in the film, with Taylor set to direct under the production company MACRO Media.
[4] Later that year in October, John Boyega joined the cast, replacing Henry in the lead role, with production expected to begin in early 2020 and Netflix set to distribute.
Teyonah Parris comes off as a Blaxploitation star mixed with futurism with her natural hair, faux fur yellow coat, leopard print pants, and thigh-high boots.
[25] Yasmeen Hamadeh of Mashable complimented: "With its high-thrills trailer promising hilarious hijinks and '70s galore, They Cloned Tyrone is a must-add to your Netflix watch list".
[30] In her review of the film for The Hollywood Reporter, Lovia Gyarkye called They Cloned Tyrone a "compelling ride" and praised the "sleek" direction, "savvy" score and "reliably funny" cast performances.
[31] In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw described it as an "odd, slightly baffling but likable piece of work [...] with its own peculiarly unexpected innocence and charm" and commended the "powerhouse performances" from the lead cast.
[32] Amon Warmann gave the film rating of 4 out of 5 stars in his review for Empire and called it a "stylish, laugh-out-loud blast that has something to say but doesn't sacrifice enjoyment to do so, anchored by a trio of great performances".
[33] Debiparna Chakraborty of Far Out magazine gave the film a rating of 3.5/5, writing: "While it may exhibit moments of unevenness, They Cloned Tyrone still makes for an entertaining ride with the potential to become a cult favourite.
[35] Todd McCarthy of Deadline admired the cast performances and production design, but found the film never quite reaches its full potential, summarizing: "They Cloned Tyrone seems poised to become something that, at least initially, feels fresh, a conjunction of sci-fi and blaxploitation that, 50 years after the latter genre's heyday, could possibly give it a welcome recharge, if not a full-bodied return.
[37] In an essay about the new wave of Black, satirical, absurdist films, Maya Phillips in The New York Times criticized Get Out and American Fiction for being limited by the way they "aimed at white liberal audiences so they can feel in on the joke.
Phillips contrasted They Cloned Tyrone favorably with those movies and suggested the film succeeds because it is "not just about the way characters speak or the exaggerated depictions of their lives; it’s also about their internal conflicts, whether they choose to submit to a racist narrative.