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Although it’s been 19 years since the last movie called Shaft, the newest incarnation is a very different beast. First, there’s Samuel L. Jackson, reprising his role from the 2000 John Singleton movie, as well as the original Shaft Richard Roundtree, his role changed a little since last time. They’re joined by John Shaft Jr. aka “J.J.,” as played by Jessie T. Usher (Independence Day: Resurgence), who brings a very different dynamic to the new movie.

This time around, the Tim Story-directed Shaft is more of an action-comedy that plays on the awkward relationship between father and son Shafts as they try to work together to solve a case and stop a Harlem-based drug ring. J.J. is far more “woke” than his foul-mouthed father, who often feels the need to resort to violence to get the answers they need. While Jackson’s previous foray as John Shaft was R-rated, this one takes that R-rating to a new level.

I spoke with all three actors at the Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem – probably some of the best junket food I’ve ever eaten, mind you!

Topics discussed in the video interview below include:

• What it took to get Roundtree and Jackson back in their roles as Shaft and why it took so long.
• How they hadn’t been developing a Shaft sequel/remake since 2000 and that producer Jon Davis had to be reminded that Jackson played Shaft in that movie.
• Jessie Usher talks about his own experiences with Shaft and refamiliarizing himself with that world to play J.J.

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  Roundtree talks about the more comedic angle the new Shaft takes compared to the previous movies.
• Jackson talks about what having stronger female characters in the movie and what they bring to the story.

Incidentally, after the video stopped rolling, I did ask Jackson about him returning to play Nick Fury in the MCU, and he was fairly non-committal:

“I don’t ask questions,” he told me. “I just kind of show up and do what they ask me to do. I’ve learned a long time ago that I’m not gonna ask, ‘I need a Nick Fury movie!’ I don’t know if I do or don’t. People would like to see it, and if you do it, fine, do it. If you don’t, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing. I go to work.”