Alexandra Shipp To Join The New Adventures Of SHAFT

The newest iteration of John Shaft will include no less than three different versions of the iconic Blaxploitation private detective. First, there's Richard Roundtree, who plays the original Shaft from the '71 classic (and who's credited as "Uncle John Shaft" in John Singleton's pretty decent 2000 reboot). Then there's Samuel L. Jackson, playing the man's nephew when Shaft was initially resurrected for modern audiences in the early aughts.

Tim Story's Shaft (the Netflix/New Line co-production which, let's face it, will probably be called Shaft: Reborn or some shit) features Jessie T. Usher (Independence Day: Resurgence) as the complicated man's nephew's estranged son, delivering unto us three generations of black trenchcoat-wearing badasses who will all probably enter to the same iconic theme song. You got that, champ? 

This streaming version of Ernest Tidyman's claim to fame - which will hit Netflix two weeks after it drops in theaters thanks to the picture's landmark production deal - revolves around Shaft's FBI agent and cyber expert son, who teams with his old school father and great uncle on a new case. We would call it A Good Day to Shaft Hard, but that would present both an awkward bit of phrasing, and be traumatic for anyone who sat through Bruce and Jai's Die Hard franchise nadir. 

Now, Alexandra Shipp (X-Men: Apocalypse, Straight Outta Compton) has entered final negotiations to join Story's parody-sounding installment. Her role has not been disclosed as of yet, but will more than likely be a love interest for Usher's Shaft Jr., as there doesn't seem to be an ounce of originality contained in this project. Maybe I'm being overly cynical (wouldn't be the first time), but this just reads awful on paper, and the director of the Ride Along duology (soon to be a trilogy!) inspires zero confidence. However, the script was co-written by Girls Trip scribe Kenya Barris, so there's a sliver of hope that some good jokes could be peppered into the otherwise banal proceedings.