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The original 1992 White Men Can’t Jump, starring Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, is a sports comedy classic thanks in large part to the natural rapport between the two leads. A new version of the film is coming to Hulu next month, directed by Calmatic and starring Jack Harlow and Sinqua Walls, both actors with significant basketball talent. Walls played college ball and Harlow is apparently quite good as well, making all his own dunks in the film. This focus on hiring actors with serious basketball skills should make for an exciting sports film, especially if Harlow and Walls can also nail the rapport and comedic timing perfected by Snipes and Harrelson.Editor's Note: This article was last updated on May 7 with the new teaser.
When Is the White Men Can’t Jump Remake Coming Out?
White Men Can’t Jump is scheduled to be released on May 19, 2023, which is right around the time of the NBA Conference Finals which are scheduled to start mid-May, and Finals which are scheduled to start June 1.
Where Can I Watch the White Men Can't Jump Remake?
The White Men Can't Jump Remake will be bypassing theaters and streaming directly on Hulu on May, 19. This falls in line with other recent 20th Century Studios titles such as Prey, Boston Strangler, and Rosaline which all streamed directly to Hulu instead of going to theaters.
Hulu has not announced any plans to release a DVD or Blu-ray of the film and movies and shows released directly on streaming services often don’t receive physical releases. Hulu has been known to release DVDs of shows that are particularly successful though.
Is There a Trailer for the White Men Can't Jump Remake?
A 30-second first-look spot for the White Men Can't Jump remake was released on February 5, 2023, during the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.
The full trailer for the remake was released on 20th Century Studios and Hulu's YouTube channels on April 20, 2023. The trailer gives a glimpse of Jeremy (Harlow) and Kamal’s (Walls) personalities and styles. Average Citizens’ “Where the Love GO?” and Lil Wayne featuring Swizz Beatz’s “Uproar” are used to score the trailer.
The trailer introduces the audience to the film’s basic premise, and we see Jeremy and Kamal meet on a basketball court. Jeremy, whose fashion choices lead others to describe him as a “yoga instructor” and “a white girl at Whole Foods,” seems to be perpetually trying to shill detox drinks, much to the frustration of his girlfriend. Kamal’s girlfriend, who is also the mother of his child, is similarly frustrated with Kamal’s financial issues. Of course, Jeremy and Kamal inevitably decide to team up to enter a streetball tournament with a 500 thousand prize. All they have to do is hustle a few games to get the money for the entry fee. What could go wrong? We’re not quite sure how flamethrowers become involved, but having watched the trailer, we can confirm that there are flamethrowers.
On May 5, 2023, a new teaser for White Men Can't Jump was released on Twitter as well. It's a brief 30-second clip and you can watch it here:
Who Stars in the White Men Can't Jump Remake?
White Men Can’t Jump stars Jack Harlow as Jeremy and Sinqua Walls as Kamal. Harlow is known primarily as the artist behind hits like “First Class” and the Lil Nas X collab “Industry Baby.” The film will be Harlow’s first screen role. Director Calmatic had effusive praise for Harlow’s acting, saying in an interview with Collider's own Christina Radish:
“He turned it up even more on set and was way beyond our expectations of an actor and a performer. It was weird because, after we got through filming, he went on tour and I would see him on stage in front of thousands of people and be like, 'Who’s that person? Because for the last 60 days, I’ve known this person who is just very focused, but also cool to hang around. I can’t believe that that person is also one of the biggest rappers in the world right now.' I think that combination of his stardom plus his charm on camera is gonna be the sky’s the limit for him, when it comes to acting.”
This won't be Harlow's last time on screen either as he is currently filming the heist-thriller The Instigators alongside Matt Damon and Casey Affleck.
Sinqua Walls on the other hand has already had a long film and tv career and has been in a variety of projects including playing Boyd on MTV’s Teen Wolf, playing Shawn in Power, and playing Don Cornelius in American Soul. While in college Walls was a point guard and two guard for the San Francisco Dons.
The late great Lance Reddick plays Benji Allen, the father and former coach of Walls’ character Kamal. Reddick was best known for playing Lt. Cedric Daniels in The Wire and more recently playing Charon in the John Wick franchise. He also acted in several films that have not yet been released including Shirley, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, and Ballerina. He also plays Zeus in the first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians which is scheduled to hit Disney+ in early 2024.
Other cast members include Teyana Taylor (Coming 2 America), Laura Harrier (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Vince Staples (Abbott Elementary), Myles Bullock (Runaways), Tamera Kissen (House Party), Zak Steiner (Euphoria), and Andrew Schulz (You People).
What Is the White Men Can’t Jump Remake About?
The White Men Can’t Jump remake looks to have the same basic setup as the original 1992 film starring Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes A talented white basketball player, played here by Jack Harlow, teams up with another skilled player, here played by Sinqua Walls, to hustle competitors who underestimate him.
The official plot synopsis for the White Men Can't Jump Remake reads:
“White Men Can’t Jump” is a modern retelling of the iconic 1992 film that celebrates the streetball hustling culture of Los Angeles. Sinqua Walls stars as Kamal, once a promising player who derailed his future in the sport, and multi-platinum rap superstar Jack Harlow makes his movie debut as Jeremy, a former star of the game whose injuries stalled his own career. Juggling tenuous relationships, financial pressures and serious internal struggles, the two ballers—opposites who are seemingly miles apart—find they might have more in common than they imagined possible."
Who Is Making the White Men Can’t Jump Remake?
The remake of White Men Can’t Jump is directed by Calmatic. Calmatic was the director of Lil Nas X’s iconic “Old Town Road” video and multiple well-known commercials including TurboTax’s 2020 Super Bowl Ad. This isn't Calmatic's first remake in 2023 as he made his feature directorial debut with House Party which was released in theaters back in January.
Kenya Barris and Doug Hall wrote the script for the remake. Barris is perhaps best known for his sitcoms Black-ish, Grown-ish, and Mixed-ish. On the film side, Barris wrote Shaft, Girl's Trip, Barbershop: The Next Cut, The Witches, Coming 2 America, and Cheaper by the Dozen. He recently made his directorial debut with the Netflix comedy film You People which starred Jonah Hill and Eddie Murphy. Hall previously worked with Barris as a writer on his Netflix series #BlackAF and worked as an executive story editor on both Black-ish and Grown-ish. He also wrote the screenplay for the slasher film Leprechaun 5: In the Hood.
White Men Can’t Jump’s soundtrack is by DJ Drama. DJ Drama is the cofounder of Generation Now, which is an Atlantic Records imprint that includes Jack Harlow among its talent. Drama won the 2013 BET Hip Hop Award for DJ of the Year and in 2022 he won the Grammy for Best Rap Album.
Barris also produced the film alongside Paul Hall (For Colored Girls). Executive producers on the film include NBA All-Star Blake Griffin, former NFL center Ryan Kalil, Noah Weinstein (Hello, Tomorrow!), E. Brian Dobbins (The Blackening), James Powers (Welcome to Flatch), Calmatic, and Doug Hall.
When and Where Did the White Men Can't Jump Remake Film?
Production for the White Men Can't Jump remake took place in Los Angeles, California, with filming beginning in May 2022 and wrapping the following July.