This past Sunday, director Morgan Cooper launched a fan-made trailer for Bel-Air, which serves as a grounded and gritty reboot to the classic Will Smith-led sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. As the trailer plays on, we find Cooper giving Will a darker reason to have moved from the mean streets of Philly to the posh groves and gardens of Los Angeles, California, to live with his Uncle Phil and Aunt Vivian. Like many of life's unfortunate turns, Will's troubles begin with a misunderstanding. After stepping to a local badass on the basketball court, Will is caught by local law enforcement with a concealed weapon. Fed up with his foolish antics, Will's parents send him away to Bel-Air, where a whole new way of life filled with its own trials and tribulations awaits.
You can check out the trailer in all of its glory below:
Okay, I can't be the only one who would watch the hell out of Cooper's Bel-Air reboot. Who's with me? I really dig the tone of the trailer, and how at just a four-minute runtime, Cooper manages to amplify the personalities of the show's characters to compelling results. Granted, the mood lightens a bit once Will encounters his main man Jazz in a local record shop, though I have a feeling that their fateful meeting would only serve as the start to more drama. Again, I would watch a fully fleshed-out version of this in a hearbeat.
At the time of the trailer's debut, Cooper posted the following tweet to his personal account:
What are your thoughts on Cooper's Bel-Air reboot? Would you watch a more dramatic retelling of THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR? What other '90s sitcoms do you think could benefit from a more grounded take? Let us know your suggestions in the comments section below.