Jack Harlow will prove whether or not White Men Can’t Jump in upcoming remake

Harlow will take over the Woody Harrelson role in the remake of the basketball buddy comedy

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  March 3, 2022 | 8:08pm
Aux News Jack Harlow
Jack Harlow will prove whether or not White Men Can’t Jump in upcoming remake
Introducing Endless Mode: A New Games & Anime Site from Paste
Jack Harlow Photo: Tim Nwachukwu

America’s favorite white rapper is about to become their favorite white can’t jumper. Earlier today, Deadline reported that Jack Harlow is taking the Woody Harrelson role in the upcoming White Men Can’t Jump remake. The movie joins the House Party remake on the directorial docket of Charles Kidd II a.k.a. Clamatic, the director of Lil Nas X’s breakthrough video “Old Town Road.”

Ron Shelton’s 1992 film, White Men Can’t Jump, stars Harrelson and Wesley Snipes as a pair of rival basketball hustlers who team up and hustle other people. Harrelson, the titular perpetually grounded white guy, tricks people into thinking that he can’t jump, but [*spoiler alert*] he actually can. The Snipes role is still up for grabs as is the Rosie Perez part.

Harlow is stepping into some big (and, based on the film’s title, heavy) shoes, but apparently, he had a great audition. Per Deadline, he only had one screen audition, which blew away producers. Wow! A massive superstar with an incredibly loyal fanbase only had one audition? And they cast him? Unprecedented. We kid, obviously, they don’t share stories about a shitty audition in announcements like these. Still, it would’ve been fun if he blew the audition, and they said, “He sucked, but we cast him anyway because he’s already famous.”

And who was particularly impressed by Harlow? None other than Kenya Barris, the film’s co-writer and the modern master of the reboot having put his name on the scripts for The Witches, Coming 2 America, and 2019's Shaft. Does Barris ever sleep?

Perhaps most importantly, Harlow can jump. During the 2022 Ruffles® NBA All-Star Weekend’s Celebrity Game, Harlow was sinking Ruffles® four-pointers from downtown. The man drops balls into baskets like delicious Ruffles® potato chips into so much delicious onion dip. Ruffles®: It’s a swish.

 
Join the discussion...