Mary J. Blige is adding some serious ‘power’ to 50 Cent’s latest TV venture. After the success of Courtney A. Kemp’s Power, the creator is once again teaming up with Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent, for a spin-off to Starz’s popular drama series.
Fans will know how Power followed Omari Hardwick’s James “Ghost” St. Patrick as he took his seat at the centre of New York’s drug ring. Power will round off with its sixth (and final) season later this year. There’s still more crime and corruption coming our way, but at least we know Power will live on in some form.
Confirmed to be a prequel, Power Book II: Ghost will “continue the journey” of Powers’ “most controversial characters”. While fans are eager to know more, Ghost just nabbed some A-list credentials in the form of Blige.
According to Variety, the 48-year-old will be adding her significant talents to the prequel series. Speaking about her casting, Blige gushed: “This is probably the most exciting thing that’s going to happen to me this year.
“I’ve been a fan of Power since the very beginning and I want to thank Courtney Kemp and 50 Cent for starting this conversation with me.”
Talking about Blige’s casting, 50 Cent confirmed she was always in line to join Ghost: “I said I got to find a replacement for me, we found somebody that Courtney’s gonna have a ball working with because it’s female-orientated and somebody who’s got enough juice and grace to make the show even bigger.”
Blige has definitely branched out from her musical roots in recent years. Fresh off her appearances in Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy and VH1’s Scream, Blige is heading to the Power spin-off.
50 Cent has been hyping Ghost. Last year, he posted on Instagram and explained how the prequel will be heavily influenced by the ’80s. Mixing the already established fandom of Power with a period piece in the ’80s sounds like a deadly combination when it comes to ruling the ratings roost.
Speaking at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, Kemp confirmed she’s working on more shows set within the Powers universe. As for Jackson, he’s been signed to a huge four-year deal with Starz. The rapper revealed his next series for the network will focus on the drug trafficking organisation Black Mafia Family.
Either way, there’s still plenty of juice left in Power.