EXCLUSIVE: Evoke Entertainment has signed Jarnell Stokes, a writer, producer, entrepreneur and pro basketball player, as well as his company Stoked Brothers Media for management.

A two-time Gold Medalist who has played basketball professionally since 2014, with teams such as the Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, and most recently, the Chinese Basketball Association, Stokes has just recently made a move into film, producing six films in three years as the founder of Stoked Film Group, Stoked Bros, and The Benford Sports Company, including Helen’s Dead, Slayers, and Dig. Throughout his career so far, he’s worked with notable talents including Emile Hirsch, Tyrese Gibson, Abigail Breslin, Thomas Jane, Brian Cox, and Malin Akerman, seeing his projects be distributed by the likes of Saban Entertainment, Redbox, Lionsgate/Grindstone, Highland Film Group, Screen Media, and BondIt Media.

The multi-hyphenate’s Stoked Brothers Media recently signed a first-look deal with Germany-based ORWO for the latter to co-produce, co-finance and handle their post-production and international sales.  Under the deal, they will greenlight three films within the first six months, with a total of six films made over the course of the agreement.

Projects moving toward production from Jarnell and his Stoked Brothers Media include Break the Cycle starring Vivica A. Fox and Cuba Gooding Jr., a project Stokes wrote and will produce; The Possession at Gladstone Manor starring Caylee Cowan and Jesse Metcalfe, which Stokes is producing; and Wings to Fly, a hybrid live action-animated films written and to be produced by Stokes, with Jay Fukuto (The Simpsons, King of the Hill) and Dea Shandera-Hunter exec producing.

Currently, Stokes is also prepping Rocky Top College, a psychological sports thriller based on actual events about a basketball player from a #1 ranked high school who is suspended during his senior year and decides to enroll in a small-time college to continue his quest for NBA stardom.

Stokes co-founded Stoked Bros Media with his brother, Isaiah, in 2022. Aisha Wynn and Franklyn Harris joining shortly thereafter.

Formerly known as Cartel Entertainment, Evoke reps top-tier showrunners, creators, writers, directors, producers, animators, and production companies in film, TV, and new media. The company has produced and financed several series since its inception, including the hit series Creepshow for Shudder/AMC, the animated family series Twelve Forever for Netflix, the Universal/Syfy series Day of the Dead, Ties That Bind for Up TV, and A Place in the Sun for Discovery. Curently, they’re in production on Breaking Bear, an adult animated series for Tubi.

Evoke is coming off the signing of Akin Omotoso, the award-winning African director behind the Disney film Rise.