The remake of the 1992 film, which starred Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes as a pair of street-basketball hustlers, will be written and produced by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, with NBA player Blake Griffin and NFL player Ryan Kalil also attached as producers through their Mortal Media studio.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barris is adding White Men Can’t Jump to a slate of upcoming projects that also includes a remake of the 1971 blaxploitation classic Shaft. Barris recently received Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for Black-ish, which airs on ABC.
Directed by Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, Tin Cup), the original White Men Can’t Jump was a surprise hit when it premiered in 1992, earning more than $14.7 million over the course of its opening weekend, and more than $76.2 million domestically and $90.7 worldwide. It ended up being the 16th-highest grossing movie of the year. The film also starred Rosie Perez.
The remake of White Men Can’t Jump is the latest project added to the slate of films being developed by Griffin and Kalil’s production company, with Mortal Media also involved in the upcoming remake of The Rocketeer — which is rumored to be targeting an African-American female actress for the lead role.
There’s no timetable for production on the White Men Can’t Jump remake at this point.
