Fantastic Four Director to Helm Shaft Reboot

New Line has hired Ride Along and Barbershop director, Tim Story, to helm their latest reboot of Shaft — the 1971 blaxploitation film that starred Richard Roundtree in the title role and spawned two direct sequels (Shaft's Big Score, Shaft in Africa), a television series, and a 2000 remake/sequel directed by John Singleton and starring Samuel L. Jackson as John Shaft's mucho-macho nephew.

"New Line is keeping the plot under the cone," Deadline reports, "but I've heard the idea is to reinvigorate the franchise with a focus on the son of the cool private eye who always finds himself navigating the gray terrain between the law and organized crime in New York City."

Kenya Barris and Alex Barnow penned the Shaft reboot script, and the film is being produced by Barris, John Davis, and Ira Napoliello.

Story is best known to our community for directing 20th Century Fox's comic book movies: Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007).

Shaft (1971) - This groundbreaking detective picture features Isaac Hayes' Oscar-winning theme song and stars Richard Roundtree as John Shaft, a street-wise black detective hired to find the beautiful kidnapped daughter of powerful Harlem mobster, Moses Gunn. Helmed by award-winning director Gordon Parks.

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