The film’s producer defends Brown’s brief appearance, 16 years after its release.

When Chris Brown was revealed to star in Stomp The Yard back in 2006 — at the height of his meteoric rise — fans were thrilled to see the R&B sensation pivot into acting. However, his feature film debut lasted only a few minutes with Brown’s character being killed off and Columbus Short emerging as the actual star of the film.

Sixteen years after its release, Will Packer — the film’s producer — has finally explained why this happened.

“So, I get asked all the time… ‘Y’all made it seem like it was Chris Brown’s movie. I get there and he dies in the first five minutes,’” Packer begins. “Well, first of all, he doesn’t die in the first five minutes. It’s 10 minutes; he lasts for 10 minutes and 50 seconds. Chris Brown was never intended to be the star of Stomp The Yard. We had this movie. It was about Columbus Short going to Truth University and joining a fraternity.”

©Screen Gems/courtesy of Everett Collection

The visionary behind hit productions like Girls Trip, Queens Court, and Almost Christmas continued, “We always wanted to have a scene where we showed why he ends up leaving [Los Angeles] to go to college, and it happens because his brother dies. That was always the set-up. It wasn’t going to be Chris Brown.”

He also revealed the Stomp The Yard was initially supposed to be a follow-up to another fan-favorite dance film, saying, “In fact, at one time, it was gonna be one of the guys from You Got Served because Stomp The Yard was originally pitched as a sequel to You Got Served, but that’s another story.”

Though Packer didn’t specify who was set to play Brown’s character in Stomp The Yard, Breezy went on to star in This Christmas later that year in his proper film debut and later appeared in Takers and Think Like A Man.