Rapper Lil Yachty has been cast in the lead role of the MTV film “How High 2,” Variety has learned exclusively.
The film began production in Atlanta today. It is a follow up to the 2001 stoner comedy “How High” starring Method Man and Redman. It will premiere on MTV in 2019.
Lil Yachty plays Roger, an entrepreneur and the younger brother of one of the protagonists from the original film. Per the official description by MTV, Roger and his friend go “on a magical hash-fueled journey to fund their on-demand munchies delivery start-up.”
This will not be Lil Yacthy’s first acting role. He previously appeared as himself in an episode of George Lopez’s TV Land series “Lopez” and provided the voice for Green Lantern in the hit animated film “Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.” The Atlanta rapper also acted in a very different recent project: an improbable sing-dong duet with ‘70s teen-pop icon Donny Osmond for Chef Boyardee. “Start The Par-dee,” a full-length jingle that debuted as a music video and an original track on streaming outlets last month. It’s the most recent in a series of high-profile commercial team-ups for the Atlanta rapper, who’s also worked with Target & Carly Rae Jepsen as well as Sprite & Lebron James (and released his second full-length album, “Lil Boat 2,” last March).
“How High 2” is written by Alex Blagg, Neel Shah, Shawn Ries, and Artie Johann. Bruce Leddy will direct. Shauna Garr returns as an executive producer alongside Mike Elliott, who will produce. Lil Yachty will also executive produce alongside Kevin “Coach K” Lee, Pierre “Pee” Thomas, and Brian Sher for Quality Control, which is moving into film production. Josh Vodnoy, Morgana Rosenberg, and Jason Goldberg serve as executive producers for MTV. The film is produced by MTV and Universal 1440 Entertainment.