Remember that dramatic resurgence of The fresh prince of Bel-Air did we all notice that first via social media? It went super viral – so viral, in fact, that Will Smith completely noticed it and gave his props to the filmmaker.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Will Smith and the filmmaker will be Morgan Cooper adjust the viral sensation in a very dramatic reboot of the popular sitcom that ran from 1990-1996!
More from THR:
Bel-Air is described as a dramatic takeover of the beloved ’90s comedy that catapulted Smith to star over six seasons in the lead role as the street kid who moved from West Philly to the Tony Los Angeles neighborhood. With a reimagined vision, Bel-Air will delve deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and benefits of what it means to be an American in America today, while still delivering the swagger and fun knickers to the original show.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that it’s new Bel-Air has been in the works for more than a year after the four-minute clip went viral when it was released in March 2019 and caught Smith’s attention. Cooper, a Super Prince superfan, made and directed the trailer that re-imagined the series as if it were a drama. He will co-write, direct and credit the script as a co-EP.
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The title of the 2019 trailer literally includes a manifesto hypothetical, ‘What Would Happen If Will Smith Made The fresh prince today? Bel-Air, a story of a child from Philly whose life was turned upside down … in 2019. ”What would actually happen? Well, it’s 2020 and what then could happen.
“The dramatic version of these ideas means you can use existing storylines,” Smith said of the trailer starring Jerry Madison Jr. when it debuted. “But it will not seem like you’re doing an episode again, because the storyline is glowing from the dramatic perspective.”
Smith will serve as producer along with original series producers Quincy Jones and Benny Medina. Creators Andy and Susan Borowitz will return as executive producers and Chris Collins (The Wire) will be the showrunner and executive producer, and will co-write the script with Cooper. As for where this in-development project will land, say sources from THR Peacock, Netflix, and HBO Max are already involved in the bidding process. HBO Max already has the original episodes fan The fresh prince of Bel-Air, so packing this would make a complete package. But, this is business, so in the end, the best deal will win!
The concept trailer was very entertaining, although I would be interested to see if this would work in a long form aspect. I’m open to seeing how they release it!
In fact, if you need a refresher on the creative trailer that started it all, check it out below:
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