Will Smith’s Oscars debacle, which resulted in him being banned from attending Oscar events for ten years and permanently barring himself from The Academy, has had a severe effect on his career. It has put an end to several projects signed to Smith as the lead actor that had been previously planned.
One of them is the Bright sequel, which was set to feature Smith and Joel Edgerton reprising their roles. Unfortunately, it’s been postponed until a later date.
Bad Boys 4
In January 2023, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence took to social media to announce that Bad Boys 4 is back on track. They posted a video of them meeting up at Lawrence’s home with exuberant shouts of “It’s about that time!”
Meanwhile, Bad Boys 4 has reportedly been greenlit for production and will feature the dynamic duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah who directed 2020’s Bad Boys For Life, according to Variety. This could indicate that many members of the original cast are returning, including Joe Pantoliano as Captain Conrad Howard and Paola Nunez as Rita Secada.
Recently, producer Jerry Bruckheimer hinted that Bad Boys 4 could be on its way soon. This is encouraging news for fans of the franchise – particularly those eager to see Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett back in action after years of waiting.
Fast and Loose
Most of us remember the iconic “slap” Will Smith delivered to comedian Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards, but few realize how badly it has affected his reputation. This incident proved detrimental to Smith’s career and ultimately resulted in him being banned from attending future Oscar galas.
Since then, the actor has been dedicated to cultivating his spiritual life. However, he recently decided to return to his acting career.
According to reports from Variety, he plans to shoot Sony’s Bad Boys 4 and Netflix’s Fast and Loose simultaneously as part of his effort to regain his audience’s trust.
Fast and Loose is a high-budget action movie featuring Smith as an unhinged mob boss who lost his memory after an attack. Initially approved by Netflix months prior to the slap, the streaming giant put the project on hold following the incident.
Bright 2
When Bright premiered in 2017, it quickly became one of Netflix’s most viewed films. This sci-fi fantasy tale was set in a futuristic Los Angeles where humans coexisted with fantasy creatures such as orcs, elves and fairies.
The movie stars Will Smith as an LAPD detective partnered with Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton). They must work together when they discover an ancient weapon both humans and orcs were searching for.
Netflix was thrilled with the results of Bright, despite its mixed reviews. Over three days, 11 million viewers watched the movie – an impressive debut weekend!
In the mid-to-late 2018’s, reports indicated a sequel to Bright was in development but production had been halted by Netflix. Now however, a new report claims Netflix is in talks with Louis Leterrier to direct Bright 2.
Polo to Pole
After Smith received “the slap” at the 2022 Oscars, many of his projects were put on hold and his Hollywood career suffered as a result. He was recently banned from attending the ceremony for ten years, lost his seat in the Academy, and several of his films have been shelved or cancelled entirely.
Bloomberg reports that one project that has been postponed is the nature series Pole to Pole, a collaboration between Smith and National Geographic which would have seen him traverse both North and South Poles.
Smith has collaborated with National Geographic twice before, releasing their first collaboration, One Strange Rock in 2018. Originally scheduled to start shooting within three weeks, the project now looks likely to commence production later this fall.
