Chris Tucker is the cinematic equivalent of one of those celestial events that only happens once every few years – he hasn’t appeared in a film since 2007’s Rush Hour 3 and the Brett Ratner franchise marked the three lone acting jobs he’s taken since 1998. Now, however, he appears to be making a comeback, snagging a role in David O Russell’s The Silver Linings Playbook and considering another in Ben Stiller/Vince Vaughn comedy Neighborhood Watch.
From the sounds of Variety’s report, he’s all but locked for Russell’s drama, which sees Bradley Cooper as a former high school teacher who is institutionalised for depression. Once released, he’s put into the care of his mother and tries to win back his ex-wife with little success, while also becoming involved with a troubled neighbour (Jennifer Lawrence).
Tucker is in talks to play Danny, a madcap friend of Cooper’s from the mental hospital who breaks out on several occasions so he can visit him and provide a little fun/guidance.
For Neighborhood Watch, he’s in contention as Jamarcus, a recent divorcee who, we’re guessing, signs on to the local Watch group. The comedy, of course, finds Stiller as a man who moves from the city to the suburbs and joins up with the patrol, originally formed as a way for bored blokes to escape their families. But it becomes something more urgent when they discover an evil alien plot. With Akiva Schaffer directing based on Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s script, the film will also feature Jonah Hill and Rosemarie DeWitt.
And the two films aren’t the only ones Tucker’s been associated with recently. His name came up as a possibility for the lead in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained and late last year he became attached to Warners’ action comedy The Rabbit, though that one is still seemingly stuck in the development warren. Looks like he's back, back, back, which is...super green?