‘Black-ish’s Marcus Scribner Teases Junior’s Future & More: Will He Show Up On ‘Grown-ish’?

‘Black-ish’s Marcus Scribner Teases Junior’s Future & More: Will He Show Up On ‘Grown-ish’?

HollywoodLife talked EXCLUSIVELY with ‘black-ish’ star Marcus Scribner about Junior’s exciting episodes ahead as he nears graduation. Could he end up on the spinoff show ‘grown-ish’?

black-ish returns with all-new episodes starting March 13. The beloved Johnson family will return with back-to-back episodes. The family has experienced its fair share of change recently, with the addition of Devante and Zoey heading off to college (and to her own spinoff grown-ish). HollywoodLife talked EXCLUSIVELY with Marcus Scribner, 18, who plays the lovable Junior, about growing up on the show and what we can expect from the soon-to-be high school grad in the episodes ahead. Marcus has a lot going on screen and off. He’s a high school senior just like Junior!

Could Junior end up on grown-ish? Marcus reveals what he knows! In addition to black-ish, we also discussed issues Marcus wants to see explored on the show, as well as how he juggles school, filming, and his work with the Sandals Foundation. He was also named the new celebrity face of Proactiv! Marcus is one busy guy! Check out our Q&A below:

What can you tease about what’s ahead for Junior in the upcoming episodes?
Marcus Scribner: I mean, there are really, really cool things. As you know, Junior’s growing up. He’s getting older. There have been a lot of storylines based around this. I mean, Junior’s had a girlfriend. We got to see them kiss on the show. There’s been a lot of cool things that have happened to Junior. I feel like he’s the real caretaker of the family. I think there’s a really interesting storyline coming up that’s very Junior-centric about college. I won’t reveal too much, but Junior applied to college and there’s an interesting story coming up about that kind of like dancing around non-disclosure agreements and all that.

Your onscreen sister Yara Shahidi is on grown-ish. Are we going to see Junior pop up on the spinoff?
Marcus Scribner: Who knows? I mean, this season I will not be making an appearance, but who knows what the future has in store. As I was saying, Junior’s going off to college pretty soon, so I feel like there would be some pretty hilarious storylines if they do so. The writers really make all those sorts of decisions, so if they come to me I’m more than happy to do my part.

What are your hopes for Junior’s future?
Marcus Scribner: I’m not sure what I want for Junior. I know that I want to finish my second semester of senior year. I’ve submitted to seven colleges, and I’m waiting for acceptance letters at the end of March. I think it would be cool for Junior to go to college, but at the same time I think it’s also nice for him to stay central to the family. It’s kind of hilarious. It’s whatever our writers decide, and I’m sure they’ll figure something out.

How do you feel looking back that you’ve grown up on TV?
Marcus Scribner: It’s wild to look back and see how far everybody on the show has come the past four years. It’s literally only been four years since the show launched, which is wild to me. It feels like it’s been forever at this point, even though I’m still new to a lot of things. I still get super starstruck. It’s been crazy and looking back at how young all of us kids were when we started, and now me and Yara [Shahidi] are technically adults. It’s wild.

What I love about black-ish is that tackles black issues and social issues so effortlessly. Are there any issues that you are passionate about and want to explore on the show?
Marcus Scribner: black-ish has covered so many different topics. I know what’s a hot issue that needs to be addressed is definitely gun control. We covered that in one of our season two episodes. We could do an updated version of that. We’ve covered so many different topics — police brutality, the election — a lot of different things. There’s a lot of things we’ve explored on the show that I feel like are huge topics in the United States and around the world. I think it’s important to be politically active and know what you’re voting for, which is why I registered to vote for the midterm elections, which will be pretty interesting. I feel like black-ish has covered so many different topics. Whatever just ends up popping up in the news I’m sure our writers will grab the headlines and put it in there. Oh, as I was talking I just thought of an issue I’d like for us to cover. I’d like to delve deeper into environmental issues because I think we haven’t really had an episode where we talked about it. There was an episode where Junior lightly brushed over it on a B storyline, but I feel like talking about the pollution, specifically living in a big city like Los Angeles, is important. Trump’s basically dismantled the EPA at this point, so there’s not someone protecting us from all that. I think it’s interesting and people should be aware so that we can come together and take it upon ourselves to be more active in our environment.

Are you looking to work behind the camera as well?
Marcus Scribner: Yes, I’ve actually be working on my own projects behind the camera, hopefully getting into producing soon. I’ve been writing. The reason I got into acting in the first place is because I love character-driven stories. I’ve always loved fantasy novels and things like that. Those really inspired me to try for my first acting class when I was around seven years old because I was always reading. I was reading Harry Potter, Eragon, things like that when I was 7. I just ended up really enjoying acting, and it’s always been about the characters for me and the stories you’re able to tell. I think writing is in my future and also in my current existence because I might be going to college for something in that vein.

There are so many kids out there who look up to you. Do you feel any pressure with being a role model?
Marcus Scribner: I don’t think I feel pressured to be a role model. I think it’s amazing that people are looking at me for inspiration. I’ve always just believed in being myself and doing what I feel makes me happy and makes the people that I love around me happy. I never really feel any pressure. I think it’s an amazing thing. It actually inspires me to try even harder.

How do you juggle filming, school, and your work with the Sandals Foundation. You must be so busy!
Marcus Scribner: It’s a lot of time management skills. I actually went to Garfield High School and got to talk to around a hundred of their students about continuing to pursue education and college and things like that. I know how it feels being in the second semester of senior year waiting on acceptance letters. I was just telling them not to give up, and also handing out school supplies, backpacks, and other things. I just got back home and started doing schoolwork, so it’s all about time management. Just balancing everything out is really the name of the game. And I get behind all the time so cramming is kind of my style at this point. It’s done me pretty well so far.

black-ish has had a number of great guest stars. Are there any you’re holding out for?
Marcus Scribner: We’ve all talked about this on black-ish and people think that Drake should play an older version of me if do a flash forward episode. And then we also got another one [dream guest star] where Morgan Freeman narrates an episode of black-ish. You know how Dre does with his thoughts? I think Morgan can narrate those parts instead for an episode. I think that would be dope. I think Barack Obama on black-ish would be dope.

Are you watching any shows right now?
Marcus Scribner: I watch a lot of shows after they’ve aired. I have not gotten into Game of Thrones, which I know I get berated for all the time. But the thing is, I have a reason and explanation. When I was younger, I saw the billboards, and like I said I’ve always been into fantasy, so I was rally excited. I had never read the Game of Thrones books, so I didn’t know what it entailed. But the first episode of the show, I watched it and was like, “Yeah, my mom and dad probably wont allow me to watch this.” So I haven’t watched it since, and I’m waiting for everything to play out and then I’m just going to binge watch the whole thing.