The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot has announced its entire cast. Developed by Andy and Susan Borowitz, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air originally ran as a sitcom on NBC for six seasons between 1990 and 1996. The show featured Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a West Philadelphia teenager sent to live with his affluent uncle and aunt in the eponymous L.A. neighborhood after getting into a fight with a local gang. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air served as a proper star vehicle for Smith, transforming him into a household name. The show was also a massive success for NBC, and although it may have ended some 25 years ago, it remains relatively popular in syndication.
A reboot for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has been percolating since 2015 but plans to revive the show only gained momentum in 2019 after a mock trailer from filmmaker Morgan Cooper caught the attention of Smith. Cooper's trailer presented a darker and dramatic rendition of the sitcom, which Smith greatly liked, and in August 2020, the two jumped to develop a reboot based on the viral video. Later, in September 2020, Peacock, NBCUniversal's dedicated streamer, officially handed out a 2-season order to series, further ramping up the reboot's progress. Last month, newcomer Jabari Banks was also cast in the title role replacing Smith, and now the show has rounded out the rest of its core cast.
As announced by PeacockTV's official Twitter on Tuesday, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has added eight new actors to its ensemble. 19-2's Adrian Holmes and Atlanta's Cassandra Freeman are on board as Phillip and Vivian Banks, replacing the late James Avery and Janet Hubert/Daphne Maxwell Reid as Will's aunt and uncle. Run Hide Fight's Olly Sholotan, Good Luck Charlie's Coco Jones, and Captain Marvel's Akira Akbar have also been cast. They play Carlton, Hilary, and Ashley Banks, Will's cousins, taking over from Alfonso Ribeiro, Karyn Parsons, and Tatyana M. Ali. Full-Dress' Jimmy Akingbola essays the Banks' cynical butler Geoffrey, played by Joseph Marcell in the original show, while Rel's Jordan L. Jones stars as Jazz, Will's best friend, whom DJ Jazzy Jeff initially played. Finally, The Chair breakout Simone Joy Jones is also attached as Lisa, Will's love interest. She will step into actress Nia Long's shoes for the role.
Although the cast for the reboot is fully stacked, it's still missing some of the key characters from the original series. For instance, Nicky, the Banks' youngest child, hasn't been announced for the show, presumably because he is meant to be born later. Viola, who is Will's mother, is also not there, although she had a significant role throughout all the seasons of the NBC sitcom. At the moment, it's unclear if casting for these parts is underway or if the characters won't show up in the reboot entirely.
Currently, there is no word on when the show would begin filming, Earlier, the reboot was eyeing a 2021 launch date, but after the showrunner, Chris Collins, exited the project, the show was pushed back to 2022. At that time, it appeared as if more roadblocks were imminent. But now that the casting has been completed, there is hope for the production of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot to commence soon. As for stars announced for the series so far, they include an exciting mix of novice and seasoned talents. Thus fans can expect the tone of the new show to be well-balanced and reflective of the essence of the original sitcom. That said, the reboot is entirely on track for success, although fans will learn a bit more about it once filming starts.
Source: PeacockTV