‘fresh prince’ fan video trailer brings ‘bel-air’ into 21 century

Kansas City native Morgan Cooper just brought The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air into the 21st Century with his fan-made trailer for Bel-Air which has gone viral since it was dropped over a week ago.

“I felt like growing up I always thought there was more to the story more behind the sitcom format,” Cooper told one media outlet. “I thought, ‘Wow, we could take this story and really ground it in reality in a really dramatic way.’”

Cooper spent 6 months bringing his vision to life with the help of Sun Squared Media, and hopes to get the opportunity to expand on the universe that has burrowed its way into our hearts. The original show, even with its comedy element, managed to touch on issues that still haunt the Black community today. Morgan took that nuance in the narrative and ran with it, even going as far as to including Philly rapper Meek Mill in the trailer as the modern representation of a Black man surviving a brush with the law.

“Meek is Philly and he means a lot to the city, especially in 2019,” Cooper said, referencing the rapper. “And hip-hop goes hand-in-hand with Fresh Prince. So to tie those aspects together — Philly, Meek, and my version of Fresh Prince — was very important. It touches on the justice system a little bit. What people go through in these communities. I felt it was really important to pay homage to Meek and what he means to his community.”

It’s clear that Morgan understands his vision for new-age Will and considering that Will Smith himself has seen and enjoyed the video (according to Cooper), this will not be the last time we hear from the Kansas filmmaker.