Among the many great movies that take place during parties, the definitive crown jewel of the bunch would have to be the aptly titled House Party, directed by Oscar nominated filmmaker Reginald Hudlin and starring hip-hop duo Kid ’N Play. New Line Cinema – who produced the original – have apparently taken the acclaim to heart and have made a reimagining of the classic 1990 cult comedy for a new generation that has become one of the most anticipated 2023 movies since. The following is our list of all the essential, confirmed facts there are to know about the House Party remake so far – starting with a mention of when this party is getting started.
The House Party Remake Comes To Theaters January 2023
When the House Party remake was first announced, it was set to be released as an HBO Max exclusive. However, after David Zaslav took over as CEO of Warner Bros. – which New Line Cinema is a division of – following the company’s merger with Discovery, the comedy became one of many films given a theatrical release after originally being developed for the streaming platform.
According to Deadline, House Party will hit theaters over Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend or, to be more specific, on Friday, January 13, 2023. Originally, the film was set to premiere on the 2022 movies schedule when it was still an HBO Max exclusive.
The Remake Is, Technically, The Sixth House Party Movie
In case any further clarification was needed, 2023’s House Party is an entirely new, modern reinterpretation of the original and not a sequel. However, if we were to count it as part of the franchise, this would be the sixth installment of a series spanning more than three decades – a few of which are the best Black-led movies on HBO Max right now.
Following the release of 1990’s House Party, Christopher Reid and Christopher Martin, a.k.a. Kid ’N Play, would reprise their roles from the original hit in two sequels – the college-set House Party 2 in 1991 (in which Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell from the classic ‘90s sitcom, Martin, return) and 1994’s House Party 3, which is set during Kid’s bachelor party. The duo did not return for the straight-to-video House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute – instead starring R&B trio IMx (née Immature), in 2001 – but would make a special appearance as themselves in 2013’s House Party: Tonight’s the Night, which (according to Level’s Medium blog) is the closest we have had to a House Party remake yet, but not quite in a complimentary sense.
The House Party Cast Includes Jacob Latimore, Tosin Cole, And More
As a split-second shot from the new House Party trailer reveals, Kid ’N Play are appearing in the remake. However, the lead duo this time is British actor Tosin Cole from Doctor Who and Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jacob Latimore from Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel and Showtime’s The Chi. As Deadline reported in July 2021, Latimore was brought in to replace Jorge Lendeborg Jr. after he left for personal reasons.
Co-stars in the House Party cast include comedian Andrew Santino of FX’s Dave fame, Allen Maldonado from the Straight Outta Compton cast, Shakira Ja’nai Payne from Netflix’s All Day and a Night, Tamera Kissen (who had a recurring role on BET’s Real Husbands of Hollywood), and musician and actor DC Young Fly. Also, Kid ‘N Play are not the only celebrities set to make cameos as the trailer reveals the likes of Snoop Dogg, ‘Lil Wayne, Emmy winner Lena Waithe, and fellow Dave cast member Gata are appearing, too.
LeBron James Is Producing The House Party Remake
Also seen in the trailer making a cameo as a holographic version of himself is LeBron James, whose own mansion serves as the titular house in the House Party remake. Not to mention, the NBA superstar is producing the movie, after having previously put in a surprisingly good performance as himself in Trainwreck in 2015, and reprising that role in 2021’s Space Jam: A New Legacy, which he also helped produce with his own SpringHill Company.
As Deadline mentions, The Los Angeles Lakers’ Small Forward also shares a producing credit with Reginald Hudlin, who made his feature-length debut as a writer and director with the original House Party after starting out with shorts and music videos. He would go on to work with Eddie Murphy on 1992’s Boomerang, was nominated for an Oscar for producing Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained in 2013, and directed the late Chadwick Boseman in Marshall as the titular groundbreaking lawyer, Thurgood Marshall, in 2017.
Music Video Helmer Calmatic Is Directing The House Party Remake
The House Party remake will also be the feature-length directorial debut for someone else who got their start helming music videos. According to Deadline, Calmatic (née Charles Kidd II) signed on to direct the comedy in September 2019, not long after getting noticed for his video for the chart-topping Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus collaboration, “Old Town Road.”
The incredibly popular, visually impressive musical short would also earn Calmatic an MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction and a Grammy for Best Music Video. Perhaps his cinematic eye is just what the House Party remake needs to look especially fresh.
Atlanta Writers Stephen Glover And Jamal Olori Penned The House Party Screenplay
I think there is a good chance that the House Party remake will have no problem also being funny, given who handled the script. In 2018, Stephen Glover and Jamal Olori were tapped to write the film, as The Wrap confirmed in February of that year.
In addition to being the brother of Donald, Glover is best known for his Emmy-nominated and WGA Award-winning work writing some of the best episodes of Atlanta, which aired its series finale in 2022. Olori has received the same accolades for the FX dramedy and also worked with Donald Glover previously on his 2018 SNL hosting gig and the Amazon original film Guava Island.
At this point, I am convinced that we might be in for the best House Party movie (or party movie in general) since the original. We will let you decide when the remake comes to a theater near you.
