'Shaft' Red Band Trailer Asks: Can Ya F***ing Dig It?

Hey, did you know there's a new Shaft movie coming out this month? If you didn't, that might be because the marketing for the movie has been oddly lax. Now, with mere weeks to go, a new Shaft red band trailer is here, giving Samuel L. Jackson a chance to do one of the things he does best: say the F-word a lot.  Despite its title, his new film isn't actually a Shaft remake. Instead, this is a sequel, to both the 2000 Shaft, and the original Shaft from 1971. Why are all three movies called Shaft? Who knows! Watch the trailer below.

Samuel L. Jackson is the man. You know this, I know this. We all know this. But does anyone have any interest in seeing him revisit the role of Shaft again? Honestly? In 2000, a new Shaft hit theaters with Jackson in the lead. It was sold as a remake, but the movie itself revealed itself to be a kind of sequel, since the original 1971 Shaft – Richard Roundtree – appeared in the film as well.

Now here comes a new movie! Also called Shaft! Jackson is back, and so is Richard Roundtree. And now there's a third generation of the Shaft family – John "JJ" Shaft Jr. (Jessie Usher), an FBI agent who is estranged from his dad (Jackson's character). Here's the synopsis:

When his best friend dies under mysterious circumstances, an FBI cyber security expert joins forces with his father — the legendary cop John Shaft — to scour the streets of Harlem, N.Y., and uncover the truth.

This trailer has its moments – it's always fun to watch Jackson say "motherf***er" a lot. There's also a glimmer of a good, albeit cliched, idea in here somewhere: the very un-PC Shaft embarrassing his more modern, woke son. But the film doesn't appear to want to embrace that too much, and would rather just go for broad humor. Which is probably fine – maybe that's what people want. Although it's worth noting the original 1971 Shaft is not a comedy, nor is the 2000 film, so this is a bit of a weird direction.

Shaft opens June 14, 2019.