Dave Chappelle Joins 'A Star Is Born'

It wouldn't be Friday without a little bit of fun news to report. In a fascinating bit of casting, Dave Chappelle is joining A Star Is Born in a role that will surely get his stamp of originality. For the third iteration of this film, which is directed by Bradley Cooper and starring Lady Gaga, Chappelle is playing a character named Noodles. You laugh now, but just you wait. Ol' Noodles is probably going to come to the table with a few tricks up his sleeve. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Noodles is being described as "Cooper's oldest friend with whom he started out playing with in blues clubs." In the film, Cooper plays musician Jackson Maine, described as a "troubled industry vet" who falls in love with his protégé, Ally.

How does Chappelle's character Noodles figure into all of this? Well, if Chappelle is going to be saddled with this "best friend" role, then it's only reasonable to imagine he will be putting his own unique spin on it. We don't have much to go on where an extensive description of Noodles is concerned, or even how much of the film he'll appear in, but if Cooper as director plays it correctly, he make the best of Chappelle's comedic chops. The material may not be the best venue for it, but I can only imagine he may be able to get a blue joke or two into his performance if given the chance. It's what we love about Chappelle; why try to stop it? This kind of a performance would most definitely also prevent Noodles from being just a stereotypical best friend or even the more insidious black best friend trope in film and television.

Chappelle's been on a bit of an unofficial comeback tour lately. After taking what one might consider a mini-hiatus, he's returned to the spotlight with two Netflix comedy specials. This has put him firmly back into the pop culture conversation.

Imaginably, A Star Is Born will capitalize on Chappelle's push to update his career and, even better, it could potentially introduce him to a whole new generation of fans.

It's nice to see you going into some new territory, Chappelle.