New Line Cinema’s untitled new Shaft movie, previously known as Son of Shaft, is getting a unique producing partner in Netflix for what’s being called a game-changing deal. According to Deadline, Netflix will pony up half the film’s $30 million budget in exchange for rights to distribute the film to its overseas streaming platforms two weeks after the film’s traditional U.S. theatrical debut. The U.S. release will go through the standard minimum theatrical 90-day window before hitting SVOD and Blu-ray/DVD and, inevitably, U.S. Netflix.
Jesse T. Usher (Independence Day: Resurgence) will play the estranged son of the detective that won’t cop out when there’s danger all about. As an FBI agent and cyber expert, the young and old Shafts are forced to team up and will butt heads throughout the new film. Samuel L. Jackson will reprise his role of John Shaft (nephew of the original John Shaft) from the 2000 reboot by John Singleton. The original Shaft, Richard Roundtree, will also reprise his role as “Uncle John Shaft” for a bonafide Shaft family reunion.
Tim Story, best known for Fox’s first two Fantastic Four movies from 2005 and 2007, will direct the film, which has a script by Kenya Barris (Girls Trip, black-ish). Story has carved out a healthy run of recent comedy hits, including the two Think Like a Man films and both Ride Along movies.
Filming begins on the new Shaft movie in December.
