Rebooted shows and films have been a key foundation of entertainment over the past few years. Between 2021 and 2023 alone, many Black classics such as “How High,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” and “White Men Can’t Jump” have been retold.
With the rise of reboots, Black folks on social media have been begging for a retelling of some iconic romance movies, specifically “Love Jones.” Though the 1997 rom-com — which starred Nia Long and Larenz Tate — was not a financial success at the box office, it left a lasting impression on many viewers.
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Although social media users have pleaded with both Long and Tate to find a way to bring their characters, Nina Mosely and Darius Lovehall, back on the big screen, Tate recently disclosed why he’s being careful about creating a sequel.
The “Power Book II: Ghost” star was asked about the possibility of a “Love Jones 2” while speaking with AL.com to reveal what’s holding up a potential “Love Jones” reboot, sequel, or spinoff.
“It would be hard for us to catch lightning twice in the bottle,” Tate told the outlet. “Nia and I have been trying to figure out what that would look like. But we feel like we should do something, but something different.”
Tate noted that his definition of “something different” is a project that’s not a continuation of Nina and Darius’ Chicago-based love story.
“TV show, movies that could be a franchise – we’ve discussed everything. We talked about all kinds of stuff, because we know what ‘Love Jones’ means,” Tate explained. “we know what those characters meant, and we know what the message and the story meant to us.”
The 48-year-old heartthrob added, “We don’t want to disrupt that, we don’t want to shake that up and do something that doesn’t live up to our expectations of our audience would want from us.”
Tate then voiced his wish for himself and Long to figure something out “sooner than later” because “I’m tired of people asking me about ‘Love Jones 2,’ and I just want to go ahead and put that to rest and get into production.”
Although the “Menace II Society” actor appears to be over the sequel questions, he stated how much love he has for his “smooth” and “forward thinking” character.
Tate also expressed having a heavy interest in reprising his role as Quincy Jones in the 2004 Academy Award-winning film “Ray.”
“He’s at the top of my list,” Tate told the outlet. The Image Award nominee also shared his desire to portray more notable names in the Black community who aren’t entertainers. “We do a lot of musicians all the time,” Tate said. “I’d like to do stories about historical figures that we don’t realize have an impact on us today.”
He continued, “If I can be a part of telling that story as an actor or producer, I would love that opportunity.”
While a ‘Love Jones’ sequel isn’t currently in the works, fans can always stream the film on Amazon Prime or Max whenever they’re in a nostalgic mood.
