Kevin Hartadds yet another project to his already sizable list of movies he’s starring in, producing, or both. Earlier this week, it was confirmed Hart would star in a remake of the 1974Sidney Poitier-directed comedyUptown Saturday Nightwith directorRick Famuyiwaset to direct.
PerThe Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. which will serve as the studio behind the remake; they were also the studio behind the original movie.Black-ishcreatorKenya Barris, who reportedly wrote the most recent draft of the planned remake, will also serve as co-producer. Additional producers on the project areWill Smiththrough his production company Overbrook as well as Hart and John Cheng through their company HartBeat.
Uptown Saturday Nightwas not only originally directed by Poitier, but he was also one of the movie’s co-leads alongsideBill Cosby(in one of his earliest feature film roles). The buddy comedy follows two close friends who got to a luxury, private nightclub and proceed to get robbed while there. Among the stolen items is a winning lottery ticket which the friends then spend all night trying to reclaim. Picturing Hart and another actor (couldDwayne Johnsonreturn for another big-budget team-up?) putting their own modern spin on a comedy is certainly an exciting prospect. Even better, knowing they’re going to work from a Barris-penned script and will be under the direction of Famuyiwa — no stranger to spinning a solid comedy yarn (seeDopefor proof of this) — mean this is going to be just plainfun, folks.
As previously mentioned, theUptown Saturday Nightremake is just one of many irons in Hart’s proverbial fire right now.Jumanji: The Next Levelis headed to theaters in December and Hart is currently filming the upcoming dramaFatherhood. As for remakes, he’s is also set to star in a redo of 1988’sThe Great Outdoors, which originally starredDan AykroydandJohn Candy.
