Photo Credit: SZA- Jeff Kravitz Keke - Kayla Oaddems Issa Rae-John Shearer
SZA will make her acting debut alongside Keke Palmer in Issa Rae’s new film. DEADLINE reports that the two will star in a buddy comedy backed by TriStar Films.
The two first teamed up for ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 2022. Keke recently hosted, and SZA was the musical guest. The songwriter’s comical track ‘Big Boy’ created for the show was a viral hit.
SZA reportedly has had several project offers but ultimately decided to team up with Keeks and Issa.
The film was born at Sony Pictures’ CoCre lab. ColorCreative and Columbia Pictures agreed to develop diverse screenwriters to create debut feature films with new concepts. However, the plot of Palmer and SZA’s movie has been kept private.
The film’s production seems to be a ‘Rap Sh! t’ reunion. Not only will the movie be produced by the show’s creator, Issa, under HOORAE Media, but it will be directed by Lawrence Lamont, the director of the ‘Rap Sh! t’ series. Additionally, the screenplay was written by the program’s showrunner, Syreeta Singleton.
Keke and her mother Sharon’s company, Big Boss, are executive producing. Color Creative’s Deniese Davis, James Lopex, Sara Diya Rastogi, and Charles D. King are also producing. Furthermore, Poppy Hanks from Macro Film Studios will be producing. The movie company, Marco FS, will produce and finance the film.
This upcoming project with Keke will be her SZA’s acting gig, outside of a guest appearance on ‘Insecure.’
Meanwhile, Palmer has been acting since childhood. The ‘Assets’ singer has starred in over 25 films and appeared in 20 television shows.
Keke’s first leading role in the film, ‘Akeelah and the Bee’ gave her notoriety. She also became well known for her presence on Nickelodeon’s ‘True Jackson, VP.’ Palmer is a diverse actress. She has voiced the animated character Ramona in ‘Under the Boardwalk.’ Moreover, she starred in the suspenseful films, ‘Nope’ and ‘Alice.’
With Keke Palmer’s extensive comedic acting experience, SZA’s natural ability to kill every project she commits to, and Issa’s production genius, this film just may be a major hit!
