Super Fly remake in the works with Watchmen writer Alex Tse
Sony is setting up a remake of the 1972 blaxploitation crime drama Super Fly, according to Variety. The studio has closed a development deal for the rights, with Watchmen writer Alex Tse on script duty. Super Fly was directed by Gordon Parks Jr. (His father, Gordon Parks, directed the classic Shaft which has a film version in progress with Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Roundtree, Alexandra Shipp and Jesse T. Usher.)
Super Fly starred Ron O’Neal as Priest Youngblood, a cocaine dealer who was trying to do one last deal before he left the drug business forever. The film also starred Sheila Frazier as Georgia, Julius Harris as Scatter and Charles McGregor as Fat Freddie. Curtis Mayfield and members of The Curtis Mayfield Experience appeared as themselves. Mayfield was responsible for the music in the film and the soundtrack outsold the box office take. Super Fly featured a customized 1971 Cadillac Eldorado and is credited with starting the car customization trend in the 1970s. There was a sequel called Super Fly T.N.T. in 1973 with O’Neal reprising his role. The original film’s producer Sig Shore directed a second sequel in 1990 called The Return of Superfly.
Super Fly will be produced by Joel Silver and Sony executive Palak Patel reportedly took the lead in buying the rights to the film. The studio is already looking at a list of actors for the lead role.
Alex Tse is known for writing the screenplay for the 2009 film Watchmen, based on the graphic novel of the same name from writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins. He also wrote the screenplay for the animated Watchmen short Tales of the Black Freighter. He wrote the TV movie Sucker Free City and an early version of the upcoming film The Crow Reborn.
Are you guys excited about a Super Fly remake? Let us know in the comments.
