After launching three franchises between Barbershop, Fantastic Four and Ride Along, director Tim Story is set to tackle a fourth with New Line’s SHAFT, the Tracking Board has confirmed. Can you dig it?
Richard Roundtree starred in Gordon Parks’ original 1971 movie as John Shaft, a smooth-talking detective hired by a drug lord to find his kidnapped daughter. Samuel L. Jackson picked up the mantle as Shaft’s nephew in John Singleton’s remake, which was released by Paramount. That film grossed nearly $110 million worldwide in 2000 — the same year the original was added to the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
Now New Line is calling the shots with producers John Davis, Ira Napoliello and Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, the latter of whom also wrote the script with Alex Barnow.
Hollywood has been eager to launch more African-American-led franchises, and Shaft represents a prime opportunity on that front.
Story recently worked with Ice Cube and Kevin Hart on the Ride Along franchise, but it’s hard to imagine either of them playing Shaft, as Anthony Mackie and Sterling K. Brown would be more appropriate for the role. Don’t be surprised if the protagonist in this film turns out to be Shaft’s son.
We’d love to hear Pharrell Williams (or another artist of note) take a crack at updating Isaac Hayes’ Oscar-winning theme song, which remains an iconic part of Shaft‘s enduring legacy.
Story last directed the clever stand-up feature Kevin Hart: What Now? and he’s slated to return for Ride Along 3 should that sequel move forward. Story is also developing Ice Cube’s Christmas movie Humbug at Universal, and on the TV side, he just shot the pilot for Jay Pharoah’s Showtime series White Famous, which is based on the early career of Jamie Foxx.
Story is represented by UTA and attorney Matt Johnson at Ziffren Brittenham. His hiring was first reported by Deadline.
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Jeff Sneider | Editor in Chief
