Back in January of this year, it was announced that Tim Story (Fantastic Four, Ride Along) is set to direct a reboot of the cult 1971 blaxploitation classic Shaft for New Line Cinema, and speaking to SlashFilm at the Television Critics Association press tour, Story has revealed that he plans on ramping up the comedy.
“My Shaft movie is going to be definitely not straight action,” said Story. “We’re going action-comedy or comedy-action, I’m not exactly sure which one comes first. We’re going to definitely make sure the stakes in the world are real, and then you’ve got these characters who are dealing with kind of a father/son situation, we’re going to see them put a family back together. We’re still paying an homage to the original, so [Shaft] still means what it means. At the end of the day though, it does mean just a strong figure. We also have Shaft’s son’s mom in it as well. She’s a strong figure as well. It’s not even specific to the male. It’s specific to just strong people.”
Plot details for the new Shaft are being kept under wraps, but the initial announcement said that “the idea is to reinvigorate the franchise with a focus on the son of the cool private eye who always finds himself navigating the gray terrain between the law and organized crime in New York City.”
Originally published August 14, 2017. Updated August 13, 2017.
