After 30 years, there’s going to be a reboot of White Men Can’t Jump. But that’s not nearly as surprising as the man starring in the film. Deadline is reporting that musician Jack Harlow will headline the reboot in his first-ever professional acting role.
According to Deadline, Harlow won over producers with his screen test, which was also a first for him. One of the factors in Harlow’s favor is that he is a skilled basketball player. In fact, Harlow was recently one of the players in the NBA All-Star Weekend’s Celebrity Game.
Harlow will portray Billy Hoyle, the character originated by Woody Harrelson in the 1992 film. In that movie, Billy was a former college basketball player who used his skills to hustle players of street basketball. After winning a game against Wesley Snipes’ Sidney “Syd” Deane, Billy teamed up with his rival to go after even bigger scores. They even became friends along the way. Rosie Perez also co-starred in the film as Billy’s girlfriend, Gloria Clemente.
20th Century Studios is producing the reboot, but it’s unclear if it is being set up for a theatrical release or if it will go straight to Hulu. Since Disney purchased Fox’s entertainment assets, many of 20th Century Studios’ films have been repurposed to expand the content on Hulu or Disney+.
Charles Kidd II a.k.a. Calmatic is directing the reboot from a script by Kenya Barris (black-ish) and Doug Hall, with Barris also attached as a producer through his company, Ink Society. NBA player Blake Griffin will executive produce the new White Men Can’t Jump, alongside Hall, Ryan Kalil, Noah Weinstein, and E. Brian Dobbins.
