In my pantheon of favorite sports comedies ever, there are really only a few films: The Sandlot, Necessary Roughness, Major League, Great White Hype, and White Men Can’t Jump. That last one, penned by the great Ron Shelton like so many things were in the ’90s, is a stone cold classic and the best pairing between Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes. Replacing those two is going to be damn near impossible, in my book, but the planned reboot from Kenya Barris has found their guy to make up half of the new duo and it’s a surprising choice.
Deadline reports musician Jack Harlow has won a starring role in the White Men Can’t Jump reboot, impressing 20th Century Studios execs and the filmmakers with his first-ever screen audition. This will be his acting debut, as well. Harlow impressed with his b-ball skills displayed at the recent NBA All-Star Weekend’s Celebrity Game.
The film will be penned by black-ish creator Kenya Barris and and Doug Hall, with Calmatic directing.
Harlow will take on the role of Billy Hoyle, made famous by Harrelson. Billy is a crackshot long ranger shooter with a gambling problem as big as his ego.
Next up is to cast Harlow’s opposite, who will take over the Syd Deane roll played by Snipes.
