Rick Famuyiwa to Direct ‘Uptown Saturday Night’ Remake

Rick Famuyiwa will direct Kevin Hart in the Warner Bros. remake of Uptown Saturday Night.

The original 1974 buddy comedy starred Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby as two friends who visit a high-end, underworld nightclub, where they get robbed and have to go searching for a winning lottery ticket.

Black-ish creator Kenya Barris wrote the most recent draft of the remake, and will produce.

Will Smith, who at one time was circling the project as a possible starring vehicle, is set to produce via his Overbrook banner with James Lassiter. Hart and John Cheng will also produce through their HartBeat banner.

Girls Trip director Malcolm D. Lee was previously in talks to direct the Warner Bros. project. Lee is currently directing Space Jam 2, starring LeBron James, having taken over for Terence Nance.

Famuyiwa, whose credits include Dope and Confirmation, recently directed an episode of the highly anticipated Star Wars series The Mandalorian for Disney+. He is repped by WME, Oasis Media Group and Del Shaw.