We still have no idea of when we finally get a new album from Kendrick Lamar (although our hopes are high for this year) but we do know we’ll get to see a sweet collab with the rapper and…South Park?
That’s right, Lamar is teaming up with South Park creators Matt Parker and Trey Stone for a live-action comedy film which, apparently, “will depict the past and present coming to a head when a young black man who’s interning as a slave reenactor at a living history museum discovers his white girlfriend’s ancestors once owned his.”
Lamar will produce while Vernon Chatman will write the screenplay, having written and produced South Park alongside Stone and Parker for over 20 years. The project will herald another departure from animation for Stone and Parker, who have mainly worked in that medium, save for films such as Orgazmo and BASEketball in the late ‘90s along with the hit musical The Book of Mormon.
The project will be distributed by Paramount Pictures, while Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free’s own company, pgLang, will handle the actual production – which is reportedly scheduled to begin sometime in 2023.
At some point, it seems likely the film will land on Paramount Plus, after Parker and Stone signed a mega-deal with ViacomCBS’ MTV Entertainment Studios in 2021 that will see the duo produce 14 South Park films for the streamer.
The huge deal was said to be valued at USD $900 million over a six-year term and it was also reported that Parker and Stone would be advanced USD $150 million a year to cover their fees for the upcoming productions as well as their ongoing profit participation stakes from the franchise.
South Park itself has also been renewed for an additional six seasons, through to 2027, which means we will be laughing out loud for a while yet.
“On behalf of Paramount Pictures and the wider ViacomCBS family, we look forward to ushering in the first theatrical collaboration from these creative visionaries,” said Brian Robbins, President & CEO of Paramount Pictures, of the Lamar project.
“And galvanizing audiences worldwide around a powerful storytelling experience.”
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.