Keke Palmer Wants To Team Up With Will Smith For An Action-Comedy Like Look Who's Talking
Keke Palmer seems like she's capable of pretty much anything after her dynamic performance as Emerald Haywood in Jordan Peele's Neo-western horror blockbuster "Nope." Peele has already expressed his desire to work with the actress again, so Palmer already has that as a pretty great option to keep her star rising. "Nope" felt like the perfect coming-out party for Palmer, who first gained fans on Nickelodeon's "True Jackson, VP." She also received heaps of praise for her hosting duties on ABC's "Strahan, Sara and Keke" and for her interview skills when she hosted the 2021 Met Gala for Vogue. (If Palmer would just host every major event from now on, I would be absolutely fine with it.)
This past Tuesday, Palmer hosted the annual Time 100 Next gala that celebrates 100 up-and-coming stars in their respective fields. During her walk down the red carpet, Palmer spoke with Variety about her desire to star in her own comedy tentpole in the near future. She dropped a few names for a potential co-star, saying "I would love to be in something with my girl Melissa McCarthy. I think me and Adam Sandler can make way. If Will Smith's ready to go back to do some comedies, I'm ready."
Palmer has obviously been thinking about the possibility of rebooting a big comedy franchise, but the 1989 rom-com "Look Who's Talking" is probably not the property that would first come to mind.
Remember the baby talking movies?
Maybe Palmer had just watched "Look Who's Talking" and responded to the chemistry between John Travolta and Kirstie Alley, not necessarily Bruce Willis voicing little baby Mikey in the surprise hit comedy. Pitching the idea of Smith and her working together, Palmer told Variety:
""[I'd like to do] an action-comedy of some sort, kinda like a haphazard duo that shouldn't be together but we are together. Maybe I'm like a know-it-all punk and he kind of shows me the ropes. I'm good for — not a reboot, an original but conceptual similarity to 'Look Who's Talking.' You remember the baby talking movies? I'm ready to be Kirstie Alley. Let's go!"
Palmer was probably just riffing here and "Look Who's Talking" popped into her head. Interacting with a talking baby may not be something she really wants to do, but the idea of her headlining a big-budget action-comedy with Smith or Sandler is interesting. After her last mesmerizing performance, Palmer showed she has the comedy chops and dramatic beats down pat, and even showed a little "Akira" inspired action in the finale of "Nope" (which /Film's Chris Evangelista reviewed here). Currently, she's living in rarefied air right now and can absolutely do anything she wants.
If Palmer was hosting the Oscars the night Smith won Best Actor for "King Richard," she may have felt differently about the possibility of working with him, however, offering an olive branch to the beleaguered actor was a nice gesture. In any case, whatever Palmer does next will probably be something special that will catapult her to even greater stardom.