‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ Trailer Takes Fans Back in Time and Teases 2021 Premiere Date
As promised by 50 Cent, some iteration of Power will soon be on TV year-round. Next up in the franchise is Kanan’s spinoff, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, which will take the audience back to the ’80s and ’90s.
Starz treated fans to a surprise when it dropped a trailer for the series during the release of Power Book II: Ghost’s episode 9. Now, there’s a window for the prequel’s release date.
‘Power Book II: Raising Kanan’ trailer travels to Jamaica, Queens
50 Cent narrates as fan favorite Kanan Stark in the teaser trailer for the new show, letting the audience know the story will begin in his youth.
Set to the background sounds of A Tribe Called Quest’s “Excursions” from their Low End Theory album, the first few lyrics say it all. “Back in the days when I was a teenager…” Hip-hop heads are already in for a musical ride.
Photo snaps in this clip show Omar Epps as Detective Howard, Mekai Curtis as Kanan, London Brown as Marvin, Patina Miller as Raq, and Malcolm Mays as Lou-Lou.
South Jamaica, Queens is a hotbed of drug activity where viewers will meet Kanan’s friends, family, and those who have direct and indirect ties to him. It’s a different drug game before the advent of cell phones, social media, hi-tech surveillance.
After production delays due to the pandemic, Power Book III: Kanan is due to arrive in summer 2021.
Kanan’s story immersed in another crime era
According to 50 Cent, things kick off with Kanan at around age 15. His family — which includes uncles and cousin Jukebox — is in the street life with Raq (played by Miller) as the head of her own drug-dealing crime organization. Jukebox and Kanan are tight and have each other’s backs.
Rival Unique (played by Joey Bada$$) is the hardest kingpin in Jamaica, Queens and will give people a run for their money. Bloodshed is inevitable.
But not everyone is about that life. Other characters are trying to make their dreams come true in the music business, in city development, or in education.
And then there’s Kanan. When 50 Cent appeared on Deadline’s Virtual Screening series in June, he described the teen’s story arc as his “innocence phase.” He said fans will see what happened to Kanan lead him to gangsterhood, as he wasn’t always that way.
“You’ll see his very first fight—things that eventually turned him into the character that you see in Power,” said 50 Cent.
What about Ghost and Tommy?
He also reminded fans that Kanan did not meet Ghost and Tommy until he was about 19 years old, so people shouldn’t be on the lookout for those two characters just yet. The short clip of Tommy, Jamie, and Angela seen in the series finale of Power was only a closer and not part of a new show.
Power Book III is all about Kanan’s walk, but it will take time to connect to some of the more familiar storylines in the original Power. For now, fans can stream all seasons of Power and Power Book II: Ghost Season 1 on Starz.
