New “Shaft” Movie Will Be More Serious

The 2000 update of “Shaft” may not have done the franchise any favours.  It was probably a bit too camp for most people.  Obviously we have not seen much since then from that namesake.  Recent talk suggested another comedic turn for a new movie.

The hiring of sitcom writers Kenya Barris (“Black-ish“) and Alex Barnow (“The Goldbergs“) to pen the script about the black private detective did not help. Producer John Davis, who is behind the new Wesley Snipes-led NBC series “The Player” along with the new “Shaft” reboot, spoke with Collider at the Television Critics Association and says the film will very much be dramatic in nature albeit with some scattered lighter moments:

“[He’s] just a great character. He’s just the greatest badass. You start with an amazing character – a great badass with charisma. He’s a lot like Phillip in [The Player], guys with a kind of violent past who are willing to stand up to stuff, who will go to unconventional means to do what’s right.

It’s a reinvention of the story so that it’s both fresh and harkens back to what we love about that character. It’s drama, but it’s going to be drama with a lot of fun moments. A lot of lighter moments.”

Literally the only thing I remember about the last movie was that fellow who, after being wronged by Shaft, begins stabbing himself with a knife, bellowing: “You best kill me motherfucker, you best kill me motherfucker.”  Awesome scene.