How has there not been a reboot of Cleopatra Jones before now? The 1973 blaxploitation film is still remembered for those stunning posters featuring a gun-toting Tamara Dobson with her big, aggressive afro. Here’s hoping they find someone who can rock a fro as well as she did, because that reboot is happening.
Deadline reports that a Cleopatra Jones reboot is in the works, to be written and produced by Misha Green. Green is the co-creator, writer, and producer of the WGN historical drama series, Underground. The original film starred Dobson as a federal agent who kicks ass in her quest to defeat the drug queen known as Mommy, whose drugs were devastating the inner city. Shelley Winters, Bernie Casey, and Antonio Fargas co-starred.
The original movie was very much a vehicle for female empowerment, with Cleopatra Jones compared at the time to James Bond. That’s probably the target Warner Bros. will be shooting for with this revival, but a lot is going to depend on the director and star. Might I suggest Teyonah Parris?
