Kendrick Lamar, along with South Park co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, shot a film in early 2024. The mysterious project, going by the title “Whitney Spring,” was said to be a “slave comedy” set in California. The rest of the cast is unknown, but rumored to include Chloe East, Celeste Octavia and Parker (playing the town’s mayor).
Paramount had set up a theatrical release for July 4, 2025, but it was later pushed to March 2026. The film was delayed yet again by Paramount, with no presence on their 2026 slate. It’s more than likely a 2027 movie now.
The excuse this time around was that Lamar was too busy touring, and Stone and Parker were too busy on the new season of “South Park.” What I kept reporting, however, is that the main reason for the delay is that the movie was simply not done, with significant rewrites occurring during and after production.
Now, THR is corroborating my previous intel, while adding that, at the request of Lamar, who produces, and filmmaker Dave Free (Lamar’s manager), “major reshoots” are needed on the film. The fact that Stone, Parker, and Lamar have “full creative control” means that Paramount doesn’t have much of a say in its creative direction.
This film has had quite a turbulent history. Rewrites definitely occurred, and they were major enough to have significantly altered the originally announced plot. The film was supposed to tackle a young Black man who plays a slave at a living history museum and discovers that his white girlfriend’s ancestors once owned his.
I was told that plot had changed — to what extent? I’m not entirely sure, since only a few people at Paramount have been allowed to read the script at Parker and Stone’s office.
Besides their work on “South Park,” Stone and Parker are best known for the Broadway hit “The Book of Mormon,” as well as features such as “Team America: World Police” and “South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut.”
Given all the uncertainty, it remains unclear whether the project will ultimately see the light of day, but its unusual premise and the creative team behind it ensure that interest will remain high should it ever resurface on Paramount’s schedule.