Jonah Hill and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller are still busy tracking down actors to work on 21 Jump Street, the big screen version of the ‘80s cop show that helped kick off Johnny Depp’s career. They have Channing Tatum aboard to partner up with Hill. And now they’ve zeroed in on someone to play the chief: Ice Cube.
According to Deadline, Cube is now negotiating to take on the role of the captain, played in the original series by Steven Williams (best known for his later work as Mr X on The X-Files and then for his TV directing gigs) and going by the name of Adam Fuller. It’s not known whether the name will stick, though. At the very least, if he demands someone’s badge, you know they wouldn’t argue.
The actual plot for the film version – which kicks off shooting in April – has yet to leak out, though it’s likely that it’ll stick to the same basic concept of youthful cops posing as high schoolers and other young offenders to root out crime.
But while he’s locking in his Jump Street deal and finishing up a role in New Year’s Eve (he’ll play Hilary Swank’s love match, apparently), Cube is also planning to jump back into film directing for the first time since 1998. He has a project called Chrome and Paint, a gritty urban drama set within the custom car culture of South Central LA that he’s looking to get made. While he has the concept at hand, he’s still looking for financing and hopes to get shooting on the movie by the late summer. Frankly, anything that keeps Cube from making Are We Potty Trained Yet? or something like it is okay by us.