The Backup: Everything We Know About The Comedy With Keke Palmer & Kevin Hart

Keke Palmer had a hell of a 2022, starring in Jordan Peele's excellent scary, funny blockbuster "Nope," earning critical praise for her portrayal of Emerald Haywood. Then, she hosted the best episode of "Saturday Night Live" season 48, proving she still had those comedic chops she'd developed during her younger years at Nickelodeon.

Even if the 2023 Oscars did completely ignore "Nope," there's no doubt Palmer came out of the whole thing with a buzz surrounding her. Which should help build anticipation for her newly announced comedy project, "The Backup."

As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Palmer will enlist the help of Kevin Hart's production skills and Hartbeat production company for the movie, which is being overseen by Universal and was announced in mid-March 2023. The actress will also produce the film, which is in the early stages of pre-production and promises to showcase Palmer's comedic sensibilities. Those were on full display recently when she managed to reunite Kenan and Kel on "SNL," and for this singular feat, she will always have our undying respect. But will "The Backup" prove to be as significant a triumph? Read on for all we know so far about the upcoming comedy.

Announced in mid-March 2023, "The Backup" is still very much in the pre-production phase at this point. Which means there's currently no information at all about a release date. Considering Universal's involvement and the fact that Keke Palmer is a hot commodity at this moment, you can bet the movie will eventually debut in theaters rather than on a streaming service. Just when that will happen, however, remains a mystery at this point.

Based on the timing of this announcement and typical production times, we're expecting a possible late-2024 release. But that will depend on how involved the filming process is and how smoothly the production goes. Universal — which added an entire set from Jordan Peele's "Nope" to its theme park — will likely be keen to capitalize on Palmer's current popularity so you may see the film arrive earlier, but the "Nope" star only gave birth in February of 2023, so it might be some time before she returns to acting.

At this stage details are slim to none, but there will undoubtedly be more updates in the coming months.

As per THR's report, "The Backup" is set to star Keke Palmer as Alyssa, whose childhood friend, Ben, decides he's had enough of the single life and wants to settle down with her. But there's a problem: Not only is Alyssa engaged to a "handsome billionaire," she wants Ben to be her best man. The only thing left for Ben to do is travel to Alyssa's wedding in Maui "with his boys" to try to outdo her billionaire fiance and win Alyssa back.

Beyond that there's not much in the way of concrete plot details about "The Backup." The setup sounds vaguely reminiscent of 1997's "My Best Friend's Wedding," — as does the upcoming "My Ex-Friend's Wedding" — only this time it's the female lead who's getting married rather than trying to win over her best friend. Palmer did post about "The Backup" being announced on her Instagram where she celebrated Kevin Hart as "a boss" and expressed her excitement about being allowed to "expand outside of being a talent but a business woman."

Aside from Keke Palmer in the role of Alyssa, there have been no confirmed casting choices for "The Backup" as yet. However, we do have some insight into who's involved in the production elsewhere. The movie is written by Chris Brew and Jordan Gouveia, the former of which has, according to IMDB, only penned one short film called "The Line," which is about "the rise and fall of a collegiate basketball star as his love for basketball gets replaced by the darker side of fame." Jordan Gouveia, meanwhile, has a little more experience, having written and directed multiple short films and series.

According to THR, there's no director attached to "The Backup" at this point and the project is still "in development." But it's been confirmed that Kevin Hart will produce through his Hartbeat company, along with fellow Hartbeat staff Patricia Braga and Kayla Stamps, who will executive produce. Hartbeat's Bryan Smiley will also be on producing duties, while Palmer herself will produce alongside Sharon Palmer for their Big Boss Entertainment company. Autumn Bailey-Ford, whose Autumn Bailey Entertainment has produced a number of projects including the John Travolta and Shania Twain-starring "Trading Paint" is also attached to produce.

All of which means Keke Palmer is soon going to be very busy, especially since Jordan Peele would love to work with her again. For now, there's no more information about how "The Backup" will fit into her busy schedule, but as soon as we know more, we'll update this page.