Key & Peele’s Major Comedy Reboot Was Canceled After Michael Brown Shooting

A planned reboot of the classic comedy franchise Police Academy starring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele was abruptly shelved. The reason behind it had nothing to do with creative differences. Ike Barinholtz has disclosed that a tragic real-world event made the studio reconsider the entire premise of the project.

Ike Barinholtz on why Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele’s iconic comedy reboot was canceled

Barinholtz, who co-wrote the script, opened up about the ill-fated revival on his podcast Funny You Ask. Key & Peele were set to produce and star in the Police Academy movie. However, a national crisis collided with its development and made a light-hearted cop comedy feel impossible to release.

While Barinholtz and Stassen actively developed the R-rated script, a white police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, an 18-year-old Black man, in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9, 2014. The incident led to weeks of protests and a national debate over police use of force and militarization.

The cultural shift was immediate and decisive for a film centered on two Black leads playing officers. “As we were developing the film, Mike Brown got shot and all of a sudden. And we were making the movie for Key and Peele, and people were like, ‘We’re not making a cop comedy right now where we’re having these two hilarious Black actors play police officers,’” Barinholtz stated on his podcast, Funny You Ask.

The studio then pulled the plug, recognizing that the comedic tone would clash severely with the public mood.

The original Police Academy, which starred Steve Guttenberg and Kim Cattrall, was a box office sensation that spawned six sequels. Since 2003, multiple attempts to revive the franchise have failed to gain traction. Today, the creatives have moved on to very different projects. Barinholtz starred in the industry satire The Studio. Meanwhile, Jordan Peele continues to develop his next secret feature film, while Key works on the Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion sequel.

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