Before they became Academy Award-nominated actors and actresses, both Will Smith and Queen Latifah were musical royalty during the ’90s — and still to this day. With this latest announcement, both entertainers are heading back to their musical roots.

It has been announced that Smith and Latifah are partnering up with Netflix to produce a hip-hop musical take on the William Shakespeare classic, Romeo and Juliet.

This rendition of Romeo and Juliet will revolve around “a young waitress from Brooklyn and an aspiring musician from a wealthy family, whose unconventional romance forces them to confront their life choices.”

The script for Romeo and Juliet was written by Solvan “Slick” Naim, an Algerian-American writer, rapper and actor from Brooklyn. Naim has directed for shows such as Netflix’s The Get Down and the John Singleton FX drama, Snowfall. The romance will be produced by Queen Latifah and Shakim Compere under Flavor Unit. Will Smith, Caleeb Pinkett and James Lassiter will executive produce for Overbrook Entertainment.

Queen Latifah earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2002 for her portrayal of Matron “Mama” Morton in Chicago, and she recently starred in Fox’s musical drama series, Star. Smith earned Best Actor Oscar nods in 2002 and 2007 for his roles in Ali and The Pursuit Of Happyness. He’ll be seen soon in Bad Boys For Life on the big screen.

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Photo: Getty

Slick Naim

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