Penny Proud meet Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins! Keke Palmer is gearing up to star as a brand-new character in the upcoming reboot The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.
“I love that she gets to be very millennial-like. Even though the original Proud Family was very millennial-like in the sense that we didn’t even know we were all millennials yet. So, obviously, that was very much so in tune with our generation even then, but now we’ve kind of evolved as a generation and our awareness is a lot different,” the actress, 28, told J-14 exclusively while promoting her new Disney+ series Foodtastic. “To see a character like Maya on the show is very fitting, and it just shows how great the creators have evolved with time.”
Keke’s character, Maya, is a teenage activist who, according to the August 2020 announcement, “relentlessly marches to the beat of her own drum.”
While chatting with J-14 the Jump In! star called her “awesome” upcoming role a “full circle” moment because one of The Proud Family executive producers, Ralph Farquhar, helped Keke “start” her career.
“It’s also very full circle for me to get the opportunity to work with him on one of his most notable shows,” she added.
As for what fans can expect to see in the upcoming reboot? Keke said, “The heart of what the show is about is still there, but they’re really bringing the issues of today into the show in the same light-hearted yet impactful way.”
The Scream Queens alum noted that the animated series still focuses on the “hard-hitting issues” but by presenting them in a “very fun” and “comedic way.”
“It’s really the same show, but it’s just moved and evolved with the times,” Keke added.
Aside from The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, Keke also has tons of projects in the works. Foodtastic, for one, has the star showing off her hosting skills.
“This show is actually going to bring food competition shows to the next level because I’ve never seen people turn food into actual structures. I was really excited to, obviously, host but to also have the opportunity to play all these different characters that streamline our own personal narrative through the Disney IP, [with which the artists] are going to be creating their art from,” she explained. “It really kind of encompasses all the things I really love to do.”
But that’s not all! According to Keke, the highly anticipated True Jackson, VP reboot is something she’s still “working on.”
“I’m hoping to be able to give you guys something concrete sometime soon with that,” Keke said of the show. “It was one of the most impactful times of my life in good ways and hard ways, but it was something that changed my life forever, and I’m very grateful for it.”
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