Bel-Air is returning for its third season, promising more drama and intrigue – all that good stuff. In the season three trailer, Joseph Marcell is best known for his role as Geoffrey, the intelligent-mouthed butler who waited on the Banks family in the original ’90s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Well, we didn’t have that on our bingo card.
Get this: Marcell’s new role in “Bel-Air” is being kept close to the vest.
But showrunner Carla Banks-Waddles hinted to The Wrap that Marcell is playing a “mysterious member of the Banks family’s past.” A ha.
Now, onto the trailer. Marcell’s mysterious character delivers a cryptic line to Will (Jabari Banks): “There’s always going to be a price—that’s on you.” Whether the news is good or bad is left to interpretation.
At least we do know the main cast will return for Season Three, including Jabari Banks (Will), Adrian Holmes (Phillip Banks), Cassandra Freeman (Vivian Banks), Olly Sholotan (Carlton Banks), Coco Jones (Hilary Banks), Akira Akbar (Ashley Banks), Jimmy Akingbola (Geoffrey), Jordan L. Jones (Jazz), and Simone Joy Jones (Lisa). Guest stars Joseph Marcell and Karrueche Tran also appear in the new season.
Reflecting on bringing Marcell onto the show, Banks-Waddles shared the logistical challenges due to his schedule and residence in London.
She explained, “We had a couple of ideas, but we weren’t sure on availability and storyline, and he’s the one that made sense. It was even tough for him because he doesn’t live here; he lives in London. He’s very much a working actor, does plays, was in the middle of a play, so just getting him here to L.A. for the availability was a feat. We weren’t even sure that was going to work out. So we had a couple of ideas for ways to get some O.G. cast in, and he was at the top of that list.”
Adding Marcell sounds like a nice bit of nostalgia. We’ll see how it all goes down when Bel-Air premieres on Peacock on Thursday, August 15.
Check out the new trailer here: