Vince Staples lands lead role in comedy pilot ‘The Wood’

Vince Staples has been cast in a comedy pilot for Showtime based on the 1999 film The Wood.

According to Variety, Staples, Xavier Mills (Legacies), Karen Obilom (Doom Patrol), Melvin Gregg (Snowfall) and Essence Renae (Bosch: Legacy) will star in the pilot.

  • READ MORE: Vince Staples: “It’s important for me to tell the truth about my experiences”

Original stars Richard T. Jones and Tamala Jones will also reprise their roles as Slim and Tanya respectively in the show.

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The film’s original director and writer, Rick Famuyiwa, will return to direct and executive produce the pilot. Famuyiwa previously worked with Staples on his previous feature film Dope.

The Wood film
Richard T Jones, Omar Epps and Taye Diggs in 1999 film ‘The Wood’ CREDIT: Alamy

The show is described as an “honest look at friendship and dating from the perspective of three young Black males born and raised in the gentrifying LA suburb of Inglewood”.

Staples will play Jamal, an aspiring photographer from Ladera Heights who has been cut off by his upper-class family when he decided to follow his own path instead of going to Morehouse College.

Mills will play the educated and ambitious Dame, Obilom stars as confident, polished engineer Brielle, while Gregg plays Pokémon card reseller Shawn. Renae stars as Ashley, the mother of Shawn’s daughter and an aspiring fashion designer.

Staples has previously dabbled in acting with voice roles in American Dad! and Adult Swim series Lazor Wulf. He also made an appearance as himself in HBO series Insecure.

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According to Deadline, Staples has also joined the cast for the reboot of White Men Can’t Jump alongside Myles Bullock. The reboot, based on the 1992 sports comedy film, has yet to receive a release date.

Earlier this year, Staples released his fifth studio album ‘Ramona Park Broke My Heart’ to critical acclaim. In a four-star review of the album, NME wrote: “The production is clean and the rhymes are imaginative as the artist digs deeper than ever before.”