Showtime Casts Vince Staples In ‘The Wood’ TV Pilot

Vince Staples

Filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa is overseeing the production.

Vince Staples will once again show off his acting chops. The 28-year-old Californian will be part of the upcoming television version of the coming-of-age film The Wood.

According to Variety, the Showtime network chose Vince Staples for The Wood pilot. The cast also features Xavier Mills, Karen Obilom, Melvin Gregg, and Essence Renae.

Richard T. Jones returns as Slim and Tamala Jones returns as Tanya for the TV version of The Wood. Both actors appeared in the original motion picture as the same characters.

Additionally, Rick Famuyiwa will direct and executive produce the Showtime pilot. Famuyiwa directed and co-wrote The Wood movie which starred Richard T. Jones, Omar Epps, and Taye Diggs.

Vince Staples will play an aspiring photographer named Jamal in The Wood. Previously, Staples had a role in the Rick Famuyiwa-directed Dope. That 2015 dramedy featured Shameik Moore, Chanel Iman, Tyga, Zoë Kravitz, and A$AP Rocky as well.

Besides working as an actor, Vince Staples also released numerous albums. The Long Beach native’s discography contains 2015’s Summertime ’06, 2017’s Big Fish Theory, 2018’s FM!, 2021’s Vince Staples, and 2022’s Ramona Park Broke My Heart.

The Wood generated over $25 million at the domestic box office in 1999. Many theatergoers of a certain generation view the movie as a cult classic. The Wood is often placed in the late 1990s-era pantheon of Black comedies such as A Thin Line Between Love and Hate and The Best Man.