This summer, John Boyega and Jamie Foxx are bringing the heat! The two actors have teamed up for They Cloned Tyrone. The 2023 film follows the comedic storyline of a nefarious government conspiracy told in true 1970s Blaxploitation form.
In a teaser shared last year by Netflix, viewers received their first introduction to Boyega as a drug dealer named Fontaine; Foxx, a pimp known as Slick Charles; and Teyonah Parris, a sassy hooker named Yo-Yo. Foxx and Parris offer up a playful duet as Boyega’s patience appears to be tested with the two. The armed trio finally exits the elevator and enters a lab, where the veteran actor asks, “What kind of s**t is this?” as the group cautiously investigates.
“I love seeing a trailer to something that makes me go, ‘What the hell even IS this?’ This movie looks slick and funny, and sharp, and weird, and I’m all for it,” one commenter wrote. Boyega seems to agree. In an exclusive interview published by Entertainment Weekly today (May 9), The Woman King star called the project “a new vibe entirely.” He continued, “I think it’s a new creative direction. There’s been a lot of talk right now about big studio projects and wanting more nuanced stories, going back to those dramas and comedies that we miss, especially during the heyday of Black cinema. I think this is a cool representation of that with really funny moments.”
When discussing his time working with Foxx and Parris, Boyega confessed, “Everyone was just cracking jokes.” He also noted that with the large number of Black people involved, “Culture was just alive on set.” Although the “Unpredictable” crooner has been hospitalized for several weeks due to an unspecified illness, he was a triple threat during the filming process — bringing Slick Charles’ character to life, serving as a producer, and keeping fans entertained. The 31-year-old recalled watching a crowd gather after they spotted Foxx and claimed the Academy Award winner even put on an impromptu stand-up show for his supporters. “I was even eating my lunch watching it,” he admitted.
They Cloned Tyrone is set for a June 14 release.