Will Smith to produce ‘darker dramatic reboot’ of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air

12 August 2020, 11:27 | Updated: 12 August 2020, 11:35

A Fresh Prince of Bel-Air drama reboot is reportedly in the works.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is set to get a ‘dark and dramatic’ reboot this year.

The sitcom was a huge hit in the 90s, with Will Smith seen moving from West Philadelphia to his Aunt and Uncle’s huge mansion in Bel-Air.

But according to Variety, now Will is keen to turn the comedy into a gritty, dramatic series based on a trailer video that went viral last year.

The four-minute clip was created by director and super-fan Morgan Cooper and told the story of a working-class Philadelphia teen adapting to life with his richer family in Los Angeles.

Bel-Air (2019) | Official Trailer (4K)

It has since racked up over 7.5m views on YouTube, and seemingly caught the eye of Will who wants to work with Morgan on a new vision.

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The project - known as ‘Bel-Air’ - has reportedly been in development for over a year and will focus on what it means to be a Black man growing up in America.

Original producers Benny Medina and Quincy Jones are said to be on board, while Morgan will co-write, act as executive producer and director.

According to US sources, it has already been pitched to multiple streamers and has created a bidding war with Peacock, Netflix and HBO Max among those interested.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air originally ran for six seasons from 1990 to 1996 and was Will Smith’s first huge TV role.

It even earned him two Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical.

He has since gone on to become one of the biggest movie stars in the world, with lead roles in Men In Black, Bad Boys, I Am Legend and Aladdin.

The Fresh Prince also catapulted Alfonso Ribeiro into the limelight after he starred as Will’s cousin Carlton Banks.

Alfonso appeared on the 13th season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! In 2013, and won Season 19 of Dancing with the Stars.

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