Revivals of many old properties are so prevalent now, it was only a matter of time for famous 70s character Shaft to return to the big screen. The famous Blaxploitation character made his debut in 1971 played by Richard Roundtree and helped give popularity to the blaxploitation genre during the time. When bringing this character back however, rather than being a full blown reboot with a new actor to fill the shoes of Shaft, a sequel to the 2000 remake featuring Samuel L. Jackson as the title character will premiere in the Summer of 2019.
Shaft (2019) will be directed by Ride Along‘s Tim Story and it’ll go the route of Shaft being “a more mellow and not quite as cynical but still very cool” version of the character, according Jackson in an Entertainment Weekly interview. The site also premiered the film’s first photo with Samuel L. Jackson alongside Jessie T. Usher, Alexandria Shipp and original Shaft actor, Richard Roundtree.
The plot of the new revival will also be Jackson’s version of Shaft having a son and him trying to pass the torch as the new lead man for the franchise in the vain of movies like Creed or Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Jackson ensures that this new version of Shaft will be faithful to the original films along with updating it for a new modern age, stating that there will still be a lot of humor and a great sense of style that Shaft has always been known for.
.@SamuelLJackson suits up again as 'Shaft' in exclusive first look https://t.co/MPRtLERejs @wbpictures
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) December 20, 2018