Deadline is reporting that X-Men: Apocalypse star Alexandra Shipp has signed on to appear alongside Jesse T. Usher, Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Roundtree in the new Shaft movie from director Tim Story (Fantastic Four, Ride Along).
The film, which is being produced by New Line Cinema and Netflix, will see Independence Day: Resurgence’s Usher as John Shaft Jr., the son of Samuel L. Jackson’s John Shaft II, who is himself the nephew of Richard Roundtree’s John Shaft.
The logline for the film reads: “Working for the FBI, estranged from his father and determined not to be anything like him, John Shaft Jr. reluctantly enlists his father’s help to find out who killed his best friend Karim and bring down a drug-trafficking/money-laundering operation in NYC.”
Shaft is set to begin production next month. Shipp was most recently seen alongside Deadpool star Brianna Hildebrand in Tragedy Girls, and will reprise the role of Storm for next year’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Originally published November 21, 2017. Updated April 19, 2018.
