Warner Bros. is rebooting the Father of the Bride movie franchise, this time with an all-Latino cast and starring Andy Garcia in the role formerly filled by Steve Martin and Spencer Tracy.
The movie will feature Garcia as a father coming to terms with his eldest daughter preparing to get married, embarking on her life as an adult, and leaving her large, close-knit Cuban family. According to Deadline, the movie will reportedly focus more on the daughter’s budding relationship — more like the 1950 Spencer Tracy version — as opposed to the father’s manic reaction to change seen in the Steve Martin version.
“I’m very excited to join The Father of the Bride, a beloved film that has brought so much joy to so many over the years and to represent my Cuban culture and heritage in this story,” Garcia said in a press release. “I commend Warner Bros. for their foresight and celebrate this opportunity they have created. I am looking forward to my collaboration with our talented director Gaz Alazraki and producers Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner from Plan B.”
Watch below:
Garcia has appeared in the TV series Ballers and Flipped and will also appear opposite Katy Sagal in the ABC drama Rebel. He is perhaps best known for his role in The Godfather Part III and Ocean’s Thirteen.
This is just the latest in a growing number of race or sex-swapped movies coming from Hollywood film and TV studios in recent years. Many have failed at the box office, including the all-female 2016 version of Ghostbusters. There was also a remake of the Michael Caine comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels which was re-titled The Hustler and starred Rebel Wilson, and the Taraji P. Henson film, What Men Want, which is a remake of the Mel Gibson film, What Women Want.
And Marvel is preparing to launch a female Thor starring Natalie Portman in the title role in an upcoming project. Actor Billy Porter is set to star as a “genderless” fairy godmother in the upcoming remake of Cinderella.
TV projects swapping roles are also either on the air, or about to debut. NBC has greenlighted a female version of Zorro, the CW is preparing to launch a season of Kung Fu updated to modern times with the David Carradine role filled by a woman instead. And CBS has already debuted a new Equalizer starring Queen Latifa in the role once filled on TV by British actor Edward Woodward and in film by Denzel Washington.
There are also other projects on deck looking to swap lead roles. Disney recently announced its intention to reboot the 1991 film, The Rocketeer starring a black female lead instead of the white male lead of the first movie and the comic book upon which it was based. There are plans for a remake of 1984’s Splash, but instead of a man meeting a mermaid, the film will give audiences a woman meeting a merman.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.