The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Will Smith and Queen Latifah will produce a contemporary musical version of Romeo and Juliet for Netflix. Solvan "Slick" Naim, the creator of the short-form series It’s Bruno coming to the streaming service Friday, has been tapped to direct.
Naim has also directed episodes for a number of TV shows, including Animal Kingdom, Power, The Blacklist, The Get Down, and Blindspot.
The film is expected to be set against "the urban rhythms of New York," and will tell the story of "a young waitress from the streets of Brooklyn and an aspiring musician from a wealthy family whose unconventional romance forces them to confront their life choices."
The Netflix project will reunite Latifah with Smith, who is responsible for giving her “my first job on TV” when she landed a guest spot on the sitcom Fresh Price of Bel-Air.
Her acting career has also crossed paths with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith as the two appeared on the big screen together in 1996’s Set It Off, and reunited 21 years later for the comedy Girls Trip.
Following a much-needed three-year hiatus from a theatrical release—remember Suicide Squad and Collateral Beauty?—Smith is gearing up for a return that may be on the verge of oversaturating the market with Aladdin, Gemini Man, and some voiceover work in Spies in Disguise. Also, Bad Boys for Life is slated for a January 17, 2020 release.
