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Kevin Hart to star in 'Uptown Saturday Night' reboot produced by Will Smith

The original movie starred Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby

Kevin Hart
Kevin HartRead moreJoel C Ryan / Invision / AP, File

Two of Philadelphia's most famous sons are teaming up together for a future project.

Kevin Hart is in talks to star in a Warner Bros. remake of the 1974 buddy comedy Uptown Saturday Night that is set to be produced by Will Smith via the actor's Overbrook Productions, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Prior to Hart's involvement, Smith was reportedly set to star.

The film's script, meanwhile, comes from Black-ish creator Kenya Barris.

The original Uptown Saturday Night starred Sidney Poitier and disgraced comedian Bill Cosby, who was recently found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault in a Norristown courtroom last month. In the film, the pair play friends who work their way into an underground nightclub, get robbed, and must work to find a winning lottery ticket.

Cosby earned an Image Award nomination for outstanding actor in a motion picture in 1975 for his work on the film. He is scheduled to be sentenced in September in connection with his case, and faces up to 30 years in prison. It is unclear whether Hart would play Cosby or Portier's character.

Hart recently appeared in Sony's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which has earned roughly $960 million at the box office worldwide to date. A sequel to that film is currently in the works, but Hart will next star in Night School alongside Tiffany Haddish in September.

Earlier this month, Los Angeles police arrested actor Jonathan Todd Jackson in connection with Hart's cheating and sex tape extortion scandal from last year. Jackson, also known as Action Jackson, is a friend of Hart's, and allegedly tried to force the actor into paying to keep a sex tape of Hart and Montia Sabbag under wraps. TMZ published a version of the tape in September last year.

Smith, meanwhile, is continuing to grow his popular YouTube and Instagram accounts, most recently recounting the tale of how trouble with the IRS led to his role as the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In that case, he neglected to pay his taxes, and began hanging around the Paramount Studio lot to try and get some work at the advice of his girlfriend. Ultimately, it worked.

"The moral of the story is always say 'yes,'" Smith said. "And, I guess, listen to your girlfriend."