Will Smith reportedly developing a ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ spin-off

Will Smith theGrio.com — (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Nostalgic reboots are a huge trend these days and thanks to Will Smith, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is set to become the latest 1990’s sitcom added to that list.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Smith’s entertainment company Westbrook Inc. has confirmed a Fresh Prince spin-off although very few details have been revealed.

“If he’s not the highest paid, he’s tied for first,” one top agent in the report opines about Smith’s star power which puts him in the ranks of Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr.

“Everything he does, he does brilliantly,” agrees Paramount chief Jim Gianopulos, who worked with Smith on 1996’s Independence Day and now on his latest release Gemini Man. “He is truly a multi-hyphenate, multi-talented man for all seasons.”

But instead of resting on his laurels, the A-list actor and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, launched Westbrook Inc., a “cross-platform holding company” that they say is “designed to expand the Smith family brand beyond film and TV into new media, technology and even merchandising.”

In addition to producing tradition film projects starring the charismatic 51-year-old, Westbrook is developing a spinoff or Fresh Prince of Bel-Air spinoff series. The 1990’s NBC sitcom that made his career is now licensed to air in 193 territories so Smith still earns hefty royalties from it.

In an Instagram video he posted to his account last year, Smith shared an anecdote about how the release and failure of his 1989 album with DJ Jazzy Jeff, And in This Corner… is what prompted him to audition for The Fresh Prince.

“It has definitely been a creative rebirth for Will,” says one Westbrook executive. “He comes to the office and loves to see the social content people are working on. It’s the closest thing to performing onstage because of the immediate feedback.”