Rare is the scenario in which a project this promising comes together this suddenly, but Deadline reports that Adam McKay (Anchorman, The Other Guys) is getting ready to board Uptown Saturday Night, Warners’ remake of a Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier-led comedy from 1974. And the two men up to take those places? Denzel Washington and Will Smith. (The latter has already been doing development work with Overbrook Entertainment.)

The original — and, I’ll assume, the Tim Dowling-scripted remake — centers on two friends who, after going to a shady nightclub, need to recover a stolen wallet with a high-stakes lottery ticket embedded inside. Unfortunately, unsavory character have said wallet in their possession, and they’re forced to “bump up against the criminal element.” So it’s a high-stakes comedy with a premise basic enough to warrant a remake, but an update with this caliber behind and in front of the camera is, if you ask me, more than enough to justify its existence.

If everyone agrees to star, production will get going after McKay shoots Anchorman 2, a project itself scheduled for shooting at the beginning of next year. And, much as I want that film to make its way into theaters, the sooner the better for Uptown Saturday Night.

Are you intrigued by the prospects of this remake? Are you familiar with the original?