‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ Reboot? Alfonso Ribeiro And Will Smith Weigh In
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a good-natured NBC sitcom that aired from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996.
While it has been more than 20 years since the final episode of Season 6 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air aired on television, there are still many fans of the show who hold out hope that there will one day be a reboot.
According to E News, fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air were gifted with a moment of nostalgia as Alfonso Ribeiro shared a picture featuring several members of the original cast of the 90s sitcom including Tatyana Ali, Karyn Parsons, Daphne Maxwell Reid, and Joseph Marcell.
“Always amazing to spend an afternoon with my Fresh Prince family. Wishing that James Avery was still with us to make this complete.”
The comments of the picture Alfonso Ribeiro shared on Instagram was littered with individuals wishing James Avery was still alive to be in the photo as well. As most fans of the series may recall, James Avery – who played Uncle Phil – passed away back in 2014. Naturally, there were also many wishing for a reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to happen as they continued to watch reruns of the series on television.
Is it wishful thinking for fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to hold out hope for a reboot or is a reboot of the NBC sitcom a possibility?
Fortunately, both Alfonso Ribeiro and Will Smith have weighed in on whether or not a reboot of the sitcom is a possibility.
A year ago, E News had the opportunity to speak with Will Smith about the possibility of a reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Will Smith, unfortunately, shot down the idea of a reboot and likely crushed the hopes and dreams of those who were waiting for it. According to Smith, he didn’t think a reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was ever going to happen.
“I don’t think ever, like pretty close to when h*** freezes over. Like we’re going to leave that one alone.”
Two years before that, E News was also able to track down Alfonso Ribeiro and talk to him about whether or not a reboot of the NBC sitcom was something fans of the series could ever look forward to. Unfortunately, Alfonso’s response wasn’t that different from the one Smith gave a year later.
The only different between what Will Smith had to say and what Alfonso had to say was the reasons. Alfonso took the time to explain that the cast of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air wouldn’t feel right doing a reboot of the series without James Avery playing Uncle Phil. Alfonso claimed it was a decision the cast made in honor of Avery’s legacy as Uncle Phil. After all, would it really be a reboot without Uncle Phil?
“Since the passing of my favorite dad in the world, ever on TV, James Avery passed, the chances of a Fresh Prince coming back together will not happen. I don’t think we feel as a cast that we would do even our fans justice. We all felt like he was the centerpiece or the nucleus of that show. Without him, it just doesn’t work. So even if the whole cast comes to support me on the show, we’re not looking for that to happen. And that’s OK.”
While fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air can enjoy the nostalgia the picture featuring several members of the cast that Alfonso Ribeiro shared created, they should probably give up any hopes or dreams regarding a reboot of the NBC series. Unfortunately for those who were hoping for a reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, it does not appear as if the cast is interested in doing one without James Avery.
Please share your thoughts with us on whether or not you think there should be a reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the comment’s section found down below.
[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]
