2 minute read
This week’s roundup of who’s casting what starring whom
What’s Casting
A Fresh Take on ‘Fresh Prince’
The ’90s comedy will return as a drama on Peacock
By Rebecca Welch
STAY IN THE LOOP ON INDUS-
try and casting news with our write-up on who’s been slated for recent film and television roles!
Please note that shoot dates are subject to state and county restrictions and may change. Refer to Call Sheet for updates, and keep checking Backstage for the latest news on project development during this time.
When fans think of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” they remember the half-hour sitcom that “April 29, 1992,” a thriller that will follow a father and son as they unwittingly become part of a botched heist while sequestering themselves on the first day of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. The film will take place throughout the city—especially South Central L.A.—over the course of the six days when riots broke out in protest against the acquittal of the four LAPD officers who brutalized Rodney King. The drama, directed by Ariel Vromen and written by Sascha Penn, is adding actors out of New York City through Billy Hopkins Casting. Production will start in mid-August in L.A. and Bulgaria.
Dust off your rulebook: The wedding crashers are returning uninvited for another nuptial season. It’s a reunion for Owen Wilson, Isla Fisher, Rachel McAdams, and Vince Vaughn as they prepare for filming on the sequel to the 2005 comedy. Original director David Dobkin is back for the movie, with a plot that’s currently under wraps. Though the main original players are back, additional roles will be cast by Beach/ Katzman Casting. Filming will take place this fall in Atlanta and Puerto Rico.
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For more upcoming productions and casting news, visit backstage.com/news/casting incorporated heartfelt lessons and sometimes drifted into serious, topical issues. On “BelAir,” which has a two-season order from Peacock, viewers will return to the mansion in high-rent Los Angeles—with a twist. Based on a 2019 fan film by Morgan Cooper that caught original star Will Smith’s attention, the premise (and the swagger) remain, but the series will be reimagined as an hourlong drama. The show will emphasize the complex relationships between race, wealth, and privilege as it explores the issues that brought Will from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated communities of Bel-Air. Smith is developing the series with Cooper; both are executive producing. No actors have been cast, but Vickie Thomas Casting is on the hunt for the new Banks family. Production is set to start in September in L.A.
Tyrese Gibson, Scott Eastwood, and Ray Liotta are revisiting a landmark day in American history. The actors have boarded For the latest news, check out backstage.com/resources to find thousands of production listings, casting directors, acting classes, agents, and more!
BROADWAY
Sara Bareilles Is Opening Up—Again
By Casey Mink
SARA BAREILLES WILL RETURN TO
Broadway in “Waitress,” for which she wrote the score and earned a 2016 Tony nomination. Though the musical opened with Jessie Mueller in the role of the titular pie maker and subsequently saw a number of actors step into her apron, Bareilles played limited stints throughout the show’s Broadway and West End runs. As “Waitress” closed on Broadway prior to the pandemic in January 2020, this new production at the Barrymore Theatre, beginning Sept. 2, will technically be considered a revival. Bareilles will star through Oct. 17, at which point an unnamed replacement will step in.
