Jessie T. Usher, who's currently the lead on the Starz series Survivor's Remorse, is joining the Shaft sequel Son of Shaft. Usher will play the son of John Shaft II in the New Line production from Ride Along 2 director Tim Story, the Hollywood Reporter reported Friday.
Samuel L. Jackson is currently "in negotiations" to join Usher in the film, which follows John Singleton's 2000 film Shaft. Despite arriving decades after the original Shaft films of the ’70s (and their memorable Isaac Hayes-penned theme), Singleton’s film was also a sequel. In the 2000 flick, Jackson portrayed the nephew of John Shaft.
The script for the sequel, set to begin production later this year, was penned by The Goldbergs' Alex Barnow and Black-ish creator Kenya Barris. According toVariety, New Line—after grabbing the Shaft rights in 2015—had initially planned to reboot the franchise. Instead, they’ve gone with a setup similar to Jackson's 2000 hit.
Previously, Usher played Dylan Hiller—the adopted son of Will Smith's deceased Independence Day character Captain Steven Hiller—in Roland Emmerich's 2016 sequel Independence Day: Resurgence. Original stars Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, and Brent Spiner joined Usher alongside other newcomers Liam Hemsworth and Maika Monroe. Usher's additional credits include Almost Christmas, When the Game Stands Tall, and the forthcoming Ride, as well as the TV series Level Up.
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