Shaft Trailer Brings Together Three Generations Of Justice-Seekers
More Shaft than you can handle.
That's exactly what Warner Bros. Pictures delivered on Wednesday, when the studio dropped the very first trailer for Shaft, the reboot-slash-sequel that sees three generations of butt-kicking justice-seekers band together on a personal mission for vengeance.
Jimmy Kimmel helped usher in the first-look footage on Wednesday night's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, during which Roundtree, Jackson, and Usher interrupted the talk show host's monologue to unveil the Shaft trailer.
Inviting audiences into the headquarters of John Shaft Investigations, the new Shaft movie footage gets us reacquainted with the original Shaft played by Richard Roundtree and his son from 2000's Shaft portrayed by the ultra-slick Samuel L. Jackson, then introduces us to the newest incarnation of Shaft — the younger and more self-conscious John Shaft Jr. played by Jessie T. Usher.
The descendant of the "black James Bond," Usher's Shaft Jr. (better known as JJ) works as an FBI cyber security analyst, but his days spent ensuring millions of internet users' data is safe come to a screeching halt when his best friend dies unexpectedly — and under suspicious circumstances. JJ's greatest chance at solving his fallen friend's passing is through his father, who has been missing in action (literally) for most of his life. Jackson's Shaft agrees to help JJ, and the two dive into the criminal underworld of Harlem (where there are "no non-violent people," as JJ quips in the trailer) and eventually enlist the aid of Roundtree's Shaft, who has a treasure trove of weapons tucked away in his apartment.
One person who throws a wrench into the trio's plans is JJ's mother (Girls Trip and Support the Girls actress Regina Hall), who doesn't want her ex-husband Shaft to cajole their son into the "bulls*** world" of gun fights, gruff men, and girls with questionable morals. Shaft doesn't see it that way, though, as he knows there's plenty little ol' JJ has to learn on his journey toward avenging his friend's death. Such lessons include how to become an "equal opportunity a**-whooper," how to discern whether a scuffle requires fists or firearms, the best practices for escaping a car chase unscathed, the proper method of wooing a lady while blasting bullets at an enemy, and the right way to accessorize a burnt-orange suede trench coat, black turtleneck, and sunglasses. Can you dig it?
Check it out in the full trailer above.
With familiar franchise faces Roundtree and Jackson in tow, bright stars like Hall and Alexandra Shipp and Lauren Vélez on board, and series newcomer Usher attached, Shaft has everything it needs to appeal to the widest audience possible. Those who love the original Shaft trilogy from the 1970s (including Shaft, Shaft's Big Score!, and Shaft in Africa) and are fans of the Jackson-topped Shaft from 2000 will be delighted to see the two on screen for another adventure. Fans of Hall, Shipp, and Vélez are sure to be curious about what they might do in the comedy-action crime flick. And those who have never seen a Shaft movie before might be convinced to head out and see this upcoming one given that a younger star is at the forefront. Heck, even Marvel enthusiasts could buy tickets for Shaft since Jackson, who plays S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, co-leads the pic.
Also helping bolster Shaft's chances of commercial and critical success are the creatives behind it: Ride Along filmmaker Tim Story directs from a script written by black-ish creator Kenya Barris and The Goldbergs producer Alex Barnow.
Warner Bros. has Shaft, once reported to be titled Son of Shaft, slated for release on June 14.