A first look at the film poster for Kyrie Irving’s ‘Uncle Drew’

On the court, Kyrie Irving has handles. And on the soundstage, he’s not too shabby either. Uncle Drew, the extension of a hilarious viral Pepsi ad campaign, is in theaters this summer. But in the interim? Irving’s director, Charles Stone III, says he’s as much a beast on film as he is when finishing at the rim.

“Kyrie does very, very well,” said Stone, who also directed 2002’s Drumline. “He’s one of these cats who is turning out, in my eyes, to be a renaissance man. He also sings. He’s got a lot of different talents. Kyrie definitely presents an understanding of who the Uncle Drew character is. Outside of not being classically trained, and having certain skills that actors typically have, he had a real innate sense, a built-in countenance of this character. People are going to be really surprised — especially opposite of a Lil Rel. They made quite the odd couple!”

The film is a triple threat, Stone said, because it’s a story about underdogs, a heartfelt coming-of-age story and a comedy. Lionsgate, the studio producing the film, provided The Undefeated with an exclusive first look at the film’s first poster. The poster itself, the director added, is a signal for greater things to come.

“To me, this is interesting because it’s a play on the Michael Jordan logo of him slam-dunking. Here you have this old guy who is kind of doing the same thing. It’s a subtle nod to a great superhero of basketball history,” Stone said. “Uncle Drew, in many ways, is a superhero. He’s got superpowers in the sense that he can play at the level of a 20-year-old. It’s a real subtle hint at what’s to come.”