BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following a brief holiday hiatus, principal photography resumed this week on New Line Cinema’s “Shaft,” the newest chapter in the film franchise featuring the coolest private eye on any New York City block. Tim Story (the “Ride Along” and “Think Like a Man” franchises) directs this all-new take on a legend, starring Oscar nominee Samuel L. Jackson (“Pulp Fiction,” “Kong: Skull Island”), Jessie T. Usher (TV’s “Survivor’s Remorse,” “Almost Christmas”), Alexandra Shipp (“Straight Outta Compton,” “X-Men: Apocalypse”), Regina Hall (“Girls Trip,” “Barbershop: The Next Cut”), Cliff “Method Man” Smith (“Keanu,” “Train Wreck”), and Richard Roundtree, the original John Shaft. John Davis (upcoming “Game Night,” “Joy”) produces under his Davis Entertainment banner.
He may be a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend’s untimely death, JJ—aka John Shaft Jr. (Usher)—will need an education only his dad can provide. Absent throughout JJ’s youth, the legendary locked-and-loaded John Shaft (Jackson) agrees to help his progeny navigate Harlem’s heroin-infested underbelly. And while JJ’s own FBI analyst’s badge may clash with his dad’s trademark leather duster, there’s no denying family. Besides, Shaft’s got an agenda of his own, and a score to settle that’s professional and personal.
Story directs from a screenplay by Kenya Barris (“Girls Trip,” TV’s “Black-ish”) and Alex Barnow (TV’s “The Goldbergs”). Barris also produces the film, with Ira Napoliello and Marc S. Fischer serving as executive producers.
A New Line Cinema production, “Shaft” is set for release on June 14, 2019. It will be distributed in theaters in North America by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and internationally by Netflix.
