Paramount Players has hired Tracy Morgan and Aldis Hodge to join Taraji P. Henson’s comedy “What Men Want.”
Variety first reported on Feb. 2 that Adam Shankman had come on board to direct the film, which is inspired by the Nancy Meyers’ 2000 rom-com, “What Women Want.” Will Packer and James Lopez are producing and Shankman executive producing.
The original movie starred Mel Gibson as a marketing exec who suddenly has the ability to hear what women are thinking after a freak accident. In the remake, the roles are reversed, with Henson playing sports agent who has been constantly boxed out by her male colleagues. When she gains the power to hear men’s thoughts, she is able to shift the paradigm to her advantage as she races to sign the NBA’s next superstar.
“What Men Want” has already been set to open on Jan. 11, 2019. It’s being spearheaded by Brian Robbins and Ali Bell under the newly formed division at Paramount, which launched in June.
Morgan is currently the TBS comedy “The Last O.G.,” which is set to premiere Tuesday. In his first stand-up special since his 2014 car accident, Morgan released “Tracy Morgan: Staying Alive” on Netflix last May and told jokes about life in a coma, his second marriage and his family’s dark side.
Hodge previously appeared opposite Henson in “Hidden Figures” and will star alongside Gillian Jacobs and Adam DeVine in the Disney comedy “Magic Camp.”
Morgan is repped by CAA, ML Management and Hansen Jacobson. Hodge is repped by Paradigm.
