Gritty Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot reveals first (real) trailer

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In 2019, a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air fan came up with an idea to reboot the sitcom as a gritty drama, even making a mock trailer to show how it could look.

Three years on and the show's star Will Smith has made it a reality - and the first real trailer has been revealed.

The title character still moves from west Philadelphia, where he was born and raised, to his aunt and uncle's luxury mansion in a wealthy LA suburb.

But the tone of the show has been flipped and turned upside down.

Image source, Peacock
Image caption,

Jabari Banks plays the new Will, with Adrian Holmes as Uncle Phil

Instead of the breezy comedy of the 1990s original, the new show - simply titled Bel-Air - is deadly serious.

In the original, the famous theme tune explained that the main character Will got in one little fight and his mom got scared.

In the new version, that still happens - but guns are involved in the basketball court confrontation, and a hardened Philadelphia criminal is looking for him.

Will, now played by Jabari Banks, is taken in by Uncle Phil and Aunt Vivian, who have to protect him and concoct a story about him moving to LA to pursue a better education.

The new trailer also introduces us to the new incarnations of cousins Carlton, Ashley and Hilary, as well as butler Geoffrey, played by English actor Jimmy Akingbola.

Image source, Peacock
Image caption,

Olly Sholotan (left) plays Will's cousin Carlton, originally portrayed by Alfonso Ribeiro

Will Smith has developed the new show with the fan who made the original trailer, aspiring film-maker Morgan Cooper.

"Three years ago, my guy Morgan Cooper uploaded his fan trailer to YouTube, showing how he envisioned the Fresh Prince as a drama," Smith wrote on YouTube.

"Now, here is the first full look at his retelling of the story that's always been so close to my heart."

Watch Cooper's original mock trailer below.

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Smith and Cooper are executive producers of Bel-Air, which will launch on Peacock in the US on 13 February, and on Sky and Now in the UK the following day.