After almost an entire year of radio silence, the gritty Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot has officially recast the role of Will Smith, and who better to deliver that news than the actual Will Smith.
In a Zoom call recorded for Peacock’s YouTube channel, Smith dialed up young actor Jabari Banks to surprise him with the news that he landed the coveted role in the upcoming reboot series known simply as Bel-Air. Needless to say, Banks was blown away, yet still managed to crack up the original Will Smith with his story of how he went for the role. According to Banks, his dad sent him an article about the reboot and just said, “You should do this,” and Banks had to explain to him that “Dad, it doesn’t work like that.” But thanks to his dad’s urging, Banks pursued the role, and bam, here he is talking to Will Smith about becoming Will Smith. (It probably didn’t hurt that Banks is also from West Philadelphia, born and raised.) Via THR:
Set in modern-day, Bel-Air is a serialized one-hour “dramatic analogue” of Fresh Prince that follows “Will’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air. With a reimagined vision, Bel-Air will dive deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases that were impossible to fully explore in a 30-minute sitcom format, while still delivering swagger and nods to the original show.”
Considering the role of Will was just locked down today, it will probably be a bit until Bel-Air starts filming, so fans are gonna have to hold tight for a little while longer. In the meantime, would it kill someone to reveal how they’re going to pull off a gritty re-imagining of the Carlton dance? It’s only the greatest question to be asked in the history of modern movement.
(Via Peacock)