Jay-Z‘s remake of the famous musical ‘Annie’, starring Willow Smith, finally has a starting date – and it’s the beginning of next year!

Emma Thompson, who is writing the screenplay, said: “I have been writing the script for nearly three years, it’s exciting. In the autumn, we get to go to LA to work with Willow and work on more of the script. Jay-Z has already started working on the music. We will start shooting in the spring in New York.”

Jay-Z famously sampled an Annie song in ’98 for Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem). The remake will take place in modern day New York, featuring some of the original songs, as well as some that have been reworked.