Power ended its run after six seasons in early 2020, but the show's killer series finale on Starz didn't mark the end of the Power world. Starz has no fewer than four Power spinoffs in the works, with one centering on a younger version of Kanan, played throughout Power by 50 Cent. Surprisingly, the actor who will play the younger version of 50 Cent's popular character for Power Book III: Raising Kanan is a relative newcomer. Mekai Curtis nabbed the role.
Mekai Curtis' longest-running role to date was on Disney XD's Kirby Buckets, from 2014-2017. More recently, he appeared in Brat TV's Baby Doll Records for two 2018 episodes, and voiced a character by the name of Zack in all 40 episodes of Disney XD's animated Milo Murphy's War from 2016-2019.
Basically, Power Book III: Raising Kanan will be a very new kind of role for Mekai Curtis, according to the casting news courtesy of TVLine. He'll definitely have to flex some acting muscles that didn't exactly get a workout on Disney XD. Although Power Book III: Raising Kanan is likely still a ways off, the series description teases what's in store for Curtis as Kanan:
Smart, driven and still naïve, Kanan’s world revolves around his mother, Raq, who raised him by herself. She is his everything. At the same time, he is beginning to get a sense of not only the world around him, but his place in said world. Kanan wants to be just like his mother…and that’s the problem. He’s young and wide-eyed and doesn’t know how the hustle works. And even more importantly, his mother is not nearly as keen as he is for him to follow in her footsteps. Theirs is a complicated relationship that only gets more problematic as time goes on.
Fans who had a hard time letting go of Kanan even after his death on Power (which 50 Cent revealed was a long time coming) should be pretty excited that the Raising Kanan spinoff will shed light on what made him into the man he was when Power kicked off. And hey, he's definitely not getting killed off Raising Kanan!
50 Cent himself hasn't weighed in on the casting, but he tweeted a post about Power Book III: Raising Kanan and is on board the Power spinoffs as an executive producer, so I think it's probably safe to say that he approves of Mekai Curtis playing the younger version of his Power character. The official Power Twitter account confirmed the casting with a video:
Mekai Curtis joins a cast already comprised of Patina Miller and Omar Epps. Miller will play Kanan's mother, Raq, on Power Book III: Raising Kanan. Epps' character hasn't been revealed, but Deadline reports he'll play a major figure in the Power universe.
Hopefully more casting news about Power Book III: Raising Kanan and the other upcoming Power spinoffs will break sooner rather than later. Plenty of viewing options are on the way during the wait for more Power, and you can find them on our 2020 winter and spring premiere schedule.
