Source: Mark D. Gunter / Getty
The time has finally come!
Fans are patiently awaiting the debut of The Best Man: Final Chapters on Peacock. The limited TV series will reunite the iconic cast of the late 90s original film as they navigate the ups and downs of adulthood, marriage, and life. Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, Melissa De Sousa, and Harold Perrineau are all set to appear in the forthcoming series.
Ahead of the show’s premiere on Dec. 22, the cast sat down with ESSENCE for an exclusive interview, where they reminisced about their early days on screen together.
Donning a plunging V-neck floral kimono and golden heels, Regina Hall, who will reprise her role as Candy on the limited TV show, joked about her “pre-meet beef” with actress Sanaa Lathan. Before they built a close connection on set, Hall and Lathan said they weren’t too fond of each other.
“There was a dress I wanted to wear, and they were like, ‘Oh, you can’t wear that, Sanaa’s wearing it.’ And then someone says, ‘She’s going to look so beautiful in it.’ And I was like, ‘Who’s Sanaa that I can’t wear this dress?'” Hall told the outlet.
“I didn’t like you before I met you either because my cousin auditioned for Candy, and I wanted her to get it,” Lathan chuckled. “I was so mad, and then I remember you walked in the trailer, and I was like, ‘Oh, she looks like my family.'”
“And I saw you, and I was like, ‘Okay. Alright. Okay. I get it. She’s beautiful,'” Hall added.
Lathan, who plays Robin in the popular franchise, stunned in a sparkling floor-length sequin gown. The 51-year-old actress completed the look with natural makeup and a curly fro.
The Best Man, which debuted in 1999, follows a group of old college friends reuniting for a fun and drama-filled wedding. The film followed up with a Christmas-themed sequel, The Best Man Holiday, in November 2013. Both movies saw major success at the box office. The original grossed $34 million domestically on a $9 million budget. While the 2013 follow-up earned $70 million, according to Deadline.
During the interview, Morris Chestnut, who stars as religious pro-footballer Lance Sullivan in the romantic comedy, spoke about the film’s impact on Black Hollywood. In the late 90s, Chestnut said he was shocked when he landed the role of Sullivan, given that Black male actors were heavily typecast at the time.
“I was auditioning for gangster number one, gangster number two,” he recalled. “It was a gang genre at the time, and, of course, I wasn’t getting them. It was just so refreshing to see us all as young, successful Black people on-screen.” Chestnut, who still looks incredibly fine at the ripe age of 53, showed off his chiseled stature in several dapper suits throughout the interview.
Nia long, who stars as Jordan Armstrong, reflected on the cast’s unity throughout the years.
“I feel like it’s never easy, and we’re naturally in a situation to have to be competitive, but that doesn’t mean we can’t love and respect one another,” the 52-year-old said, as she shined in a beautiful crimson red corset gown and matching statement earrings.
“It also doesn’t mean that we can’t share what we know because here’s what we do know: this shit goes like this, it goes like this, it goes like this, it goes like this, and then it goes right back up,” she says, motioning different directions with her hands. “So, the best thing we can do is at least be consistent with each other because we know that this industry is not consistent at all.”
Read the full interview here, and don’t forget to tune into The Best Man: Final Chapters on Dec. 22.
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