Kevin Hart Will Lead ‘Uptown Saturday Night’ Remake Without Will Smith or Denzel Washington

It’s been years since we heard about the gestating remake of Uptown Saturday Night. But the project appears to be back on track, albeit with some changes behind the scenes and in front of the camera.

The original 1974 comedy Uptown Saturday Night starred screen legend Sidney Poitier and sexual assaulter Bill Cosby as two friends who sneak out to visit a high-class but illegal club, and it ends up bringing them more trouble than fun. A remake was once in the works a few years ago that would have had Anchorman helmer Adam McKay directing Will Smith and Denzel Washington in the lead roles from a script by Forgetting Sarah Marshall scribe Nicholas Stoller. But that’s all in the past.

Now Kevin Hart is slated to start in the Uptown Saturday Night remake, and Will Smith will only be producing by way of his Overbrook Entertainment production banner alongside his partner James Lassiter. But that’s not the only change behind the scenes.

If you haven’t seen the original Uptown Saturday Night, here’s the trailer:

Variety reports the Uptown Saturday Night remake is on the search for a new director to take over the project, which now has a new draft written by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris. Warner Bros. and Overlook want to have a new director locked down before they find a co-star to share the screen with Kevin Hart.

Back in 1974, Sidney Poitier at the height of his fame and Bill Cosby at a time when he was still a respected comedian was an interesting pairing. Teaming up Denzel Washington and Will Smith sounded like it could have been quite the prospect, especially in a comedy. But with Kevin Hart in the lead, who should star alongside him?

Lately Kevin Hart has found great success with comedies that perfectly match him with a worthy co-star. Dwayne Johnson helped Hart make Central Intelligence a success (as well as beefing up the ensemble of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), and later this year Tiffany Haddish will try the same with the comedy Night School. But it seems like maybe Hart needs to be paired with an actor more known for his dramatic chops to make this really interesting.

Perhaps Chadwick Boseman would make a good counterpart? Or maybe O’Shea Jackson Jr. deserves a shot? Anthony Mackie does a nice job of dancing the line between comedy and drama, so that could be a fun team up. Maybe Hart should get matched up with somebody a little bit older like Idris Elba. There are a lot of possibilities, and hopefully this iteration of the project finally gets off the ground with a promising duo.

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‘Uptown Saturday Night’ Remake Now in the Hands of ‘Dope’ Director Rick Famuyiwa

A remake of the classic buddy comedy Uptown Saturday Night starring Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby has been in the works since 2012. The original iteration of the project would have had Denzel Washington and Will Smith taking the lead roles, Adam McKay (Anchorman, Vice) behind the camera, and Nick Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) on the script. But now the project has Kevin Hart in one of the lead roles, and a new director has just signed on.

The Hollywood Reporter has word that Rick Famuyiwa is the new director for the Uptown Saturday Night remake. This comes after the Dope and Confirmation filmmaker walked away from tackling The Flash (which probably sounds like it was the best decision after recent developments), but Warner Bros. Pictures was still able to keep him around with this project.

At one time, Girls Trip director Malcolm D. Lee was being lined up to helm the remake, but he ended up taking over the reins of another Warner Bros. project, the sequel to Space Jam starring LeBron James. Get Out director Jordan Peele was also offered the film, but he ended up turning it down along with some other high profile projects.

If you’ve never seen the original Uptown Saturday Night, here’s the official synopsis:

Steve Jackson and Wardell Franklin sneak out of their houses to visit Madame Zenobia’s: a high-class but illegal nightclub. During their visit, however, the place is robbed and they are forced to hand over their wallets. Steve’s wallet turns out to have contained a winning lottery ticket, and together they must recover their stolen property.

That sounds like something which would have been amazing in the hands of the original filmmakers and stars. But I can’t help but think putting Kevin Hart in this movie is kind of a step down. Hopefully the hiring of Rick Famuyiwa will spice things up a bit and keep it from being a typical Kevin Hart comedy vehicle. It helps that Black-ish creator Kenya Barris wrote the most recent draft of the script and is producing. Plus, Will Smith is still on board to produce with James Lassiter through their Overbrook Entertanment production banner, and Hart is producing with John Cheng through HartBeat.

There’s no release date for Uptown Saturday Night yet, but we’ll keep you posted, especially once Warner Bros. figures out who will star opposite Kevin Hart. Is there any chance Donald Glover could get in on this? Or maybe Hannibal Buress? Maybe they’ll take a cue from the original movie and go with a more dramatic actor like Chadwick Boseman Daniel Kaluuya. Stay tuned.

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