In 1992, the American sports comedy White Men Can’t Jump grabbed audiences’ attention. The film, which was released by 20th Century Fox, followed Black and white basketball hustlers as they joined forces in order to double their chances of winning more money on the street courts and, eventually, in a basketball tournament. White Men Can’t Jump starred Wesley Snipes as Sidney “Syd” Deane, Woody Harrelson as Billy Hoyle, and Rosie Perez as Gloria Clemente.
White Men Can’t Jump was written and directed by Ron Shelton, who, at the time, was known for his film Bull Durham (1988), which was based on his own baseball experiences and earned him an Academy Award nomination. The film was a phenomenon and recently celebrated its 30th anniversary at the 94th Academy Awards, where its three leads were in attendance.
The film is currently being rebooted and given a fresh take by a group of fairly new talent. Here's what we know so far about the White Men Can’t Jump remake.
White Men Can’t Jump: The Plot
Overall the film will follow the original source material. It has been confirmed that a few of the characters' names will be changed, like Wesley Snipes' character Syd Deane will now be Kamal Allen. No other character names have been confirmed, nor have any of the more intricate details of the plot. It is hopeful that more will be revealed about the film soon as it develops and goes into production.
White Men Can’t Jump: The Cast
The film, while not wholly cast, has added some exciting names to the roster. Playing the role once portrayed by Woody Harrelson, Billy Hoyle, will be a newcomer to the acting world, Jack Harlow. Harlow is best known as an American rapper whose music has, in recent years, gone viral on TikTok. The 24-year-old, originally from Louisville, Kentucky, began releasing EPs in 2015 before he was signed to Don Cameron and DJ Drama’s record label Generation Now in 2018. His hit “What’s Poppin,” released in 2020, earned him a Grammy Award nomination.
While this is Harlow’s first-ever feature film, he has always had an affinity for film. The rapper has even said that he wants his songs to present as a short film and credits his inspirations to Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and Alfred Hitchcock.
Cast alongside Harlow will be Sinqua Walls in the role of Kamal Allen. Walls is an American actor most recently known for his role in American Soul (2019-) as Don Cornelius. The show is a BET drama based on Cornelius’ long-running television dance show Soul Train. The Louisiana-native has also previously been featured in shows like Lincoln Heights (2007-2009), Teen Wolf (2011-2017), and films like Shark Night 3D (2011) and Resort To Love (2021).
Other actors that have been cast in the show are Teyana Taylor, Laura Harrier, and Lance Reddick. While it is not sure what roles Taylor and Harrier will be portraying, Reddick has been cast to play Benji Allen, Kamal’s father and coach, who is battling MS.
White Men Can’t Jump: The Crew
The script for the newest version of the Shelton comedy was written by Kenya Barris, who is also serving as producer of the film as well. Barris is a film and television writer, producer, director, and actor most known for his work as the creator of Black-ish (2014-2022). The show earned Barris a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2021. The creator is joined in his producing duties by NBA star Blake Griffin, NFL player Ryan Kalil, and Noah Weinstein through their company Mortal Media, where Weinstein acts as Head of Production and Development.
The director of the film will be Calmatic, known for his work as a music video director. Calmatic has previously worked on videos like “Old Town Road,” which won a 2019 MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction and a 2020 Grammy Award for Best Music Video of the Year. He has also worked with Vince Staples, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, and many others. The director has also just wrapped production for the House Party reboot. This film will be Calmatic’s second feature film, but he already has many impressive credits to his name.
Release Date
No confirmed release date has been announced.
Everything Else
Many have been left to wonder if Harlow, being only known for his music, will be able to make his mark in this film. The rapper has one strike against him as he confessed in an interview with HipHopDX at this year’s Met Gala that he had previously not known much about the source film. He stated:
“Can I be honest? I was obviously familiar with it, it's an iconic title and I’ve seen the movie poster, but I didn’t watch it until I got offered the role.”
However, Harlow wanted audiences to know he didn’t get the role just based on luck, “I did the work.” He wants the chance to prove himself, saying:
“Its either just going to be [that] there was an announcement you were in a movie and nothing else, or you get that and it’s like. ‘Wow’, and you brought it…I’m starting to look at it how I look at music. It’s my first one, so I care alot about it.”