Kevin Hart on Chadwick Boseman’s Death: ‘I Honestly Can’t Process It’

Kevin Hart posted a mournful tribute to Chadwick Boseman on Instagram this weekend, admitting he “honestly can’t process” the weight of this loss. Hart referenced the upcoming reboot of Uptown Saturday Night, which he and Boseman were slated to co-star in. Now, their discussion of the project is the only time the two will get on camera together.

Hart shared a photo of himself and his children sitting with Boseman at a sporting event, all smiling up at the camera together. In the caption, he shared his unfiltered thoughts on the actor, and how much the world lost when he passed away this weekend. Amid the mourning came the note “we were about to do a movie together” — a reference to the Uptown Saturday Night reboot. The two discussed the project on camera in Hart’s Netflix docu-series Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up.

In the documentary, Hart nervously prepared for a meeting with Boseman, who was already an icon for multiple projects at the time. He and some colleagues welcomed Boseman into the office and pitched the remake to him, appealing to his sense of artistry in addition to his paycheck. Hart passionately explained how much the original movie had meant to him, and his vision for elevating the story further with Boseman as his co-star.

In the end, Boseman admitted that he could not make a decision on the spot, but said that he was very interested in the project. He also said that one way or another he wanted to get on camera with Hart. It was never confirmed publicly that Boseman had agreed to the project, and it does not even appear in his upcoming projects on IMDb. However, Hart’s post seems to serve as confirmation.

Uptown Saturday Night was an action-comedy crime movie released in 1974, with Sidney Poitier directing and co-starring in it alongside Bill Cosby. As Hart noted in his documentary, it is widely considered one of the first critical responses to the “Blaxploitation” era of filmmaking, where the culture and identity of Black Americans were co-opted and, at times, mocked in order to make blockbuster films.

It is unclear whether Hart’s reboot of Uptown Saturday Night will continue without Boseman, and whether he was ever formally cast. An IMDb page for the project exists, but Hart is the only cast member listed. Rick Famuyiwa is listed as the director, while Kenya Barris is listed as the writer.