‘Shaft’ Reboot Picks Up ‘Black-Ish’ And ‘Goldbergs’ Writers; Will Be Action Comedy
New Line’sShaftreboot is moving forward with help from, of all places, ABC’s Wednesday night sitcom block.Black-ishcreatorKenya BarrisandThe Goldbergswriter/exec producerAlex Barnowhave been tapped to write the latest take on blaxploitation classic.
Whereas the originalShaftwas a gritty thriller, the new film is envisioned as an action-comedy. Not surprisingly, not everyone is happy about this change in tone. One vocal opponent is currentShaftcomic book writerDavid F. Walker, who has a message for New Line Cinema: “F*** you!” More about theShaftreboot writers after the jump.
Deadlinereports the newShaftwill be produced byJohn Davis(The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,Victor Frankenstein) andIra Napoliello.Richard BrenerandSamuel J. Brownwill oversee the project for the studio. No director or stars have been set as of yet.
Released in 1971, the originalShaftfollowed badass P.I. John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) on a mission through Harlem to find the missing daughter of a black mob boss. It’s considered one of the earliest and most prominent examples of the blaxploitation genre, and its soundtrack has become iconic.Shaftyielded two sequels in 1972 and 1973.
In 2000 Paramount made an attempt to revive the franchise with a new film directed by John Singleton and starring Samuel L. Jackson as the equally cool nephew of the original John Shaft. But the 21st century makeover failed to catch on, and no further sequels were released.
BesidesBlack-ish, Barris' credits include the upcomingBarbershop 3and theGood Timesmovie. Barnow previously co-createdMr. Sunshineand has worked onRules of Engagement,‘Til Death, andFamily Guy. Barris and Barnow recently collaborated on an untitled comedy script picked up by New Line earlier this year.
From a business standpoint, a comedicShaftreboot makes some sort of sense. Jokes are an easy way to update a beloved but outdated property for the modern era — just ask the thriving21 Jump Streetfilm series, for example. And to be fair, there’s outcry every time anything gets rebooted, not justShaft.
ButShaft’s unique place in American pop culture makes a comedic version an especially tricky sell. What’s more, theShaftreboot is being developed in the midst of some horrendously difficult conversations about race, power, and privilege. Walker argues in anopen letter, a comedic take would strip away what makes Shaft so essential:
… [Y]our solution is to take the most iconic hero in the history of black popular culture—something that is missing from the cinematic landscape right now—and turn him into some kind of comedic figure. Congratulations for your forward thinking, New Line and Mr. Davis. Because God knows that what black people—as well as the rest of America—needs right now is ANOTHER black man cracking jokes to distract us from all that ails us. We can leave the superheroics to the white guys, but the black hero can only be heroic if he is wrapped in a comedic package. I believe I speak for many people when I say, “No thanks, and f*** you.”
That’s not to say great social commentary can’t come from comedy. And the choice of Barris to write suggests New Line isn’t totally insensitive toShaft’s place in black culture. The first season of his showBlack-ishwas widely praised for its deft handling of racial issues in the modern day. At best, we can hope he’ll bring the same intelligence to theShaftreboot. But even then, it’s hard to refute Walker’s point about the lack of serious black heroes in mainstream pop culture.
Do you like the idea of a comedicShaft, or are you as unhappy about it as Walker is?
