Will Smith’s projects are now being put on pause and Netflix and Sony both have stepped back from new projects with him in the face of the recent controversy at the 2022 Oscars ceremony.
The host Chris Rock joked about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and it led to Smith slapping him. Even though Smith was made to apologize later, he still has endured a tricky few days and he subsequently resigned from the Academy.
Netflix-based Fast and Loose, a new action-thriller based on the story of a criminal who loses his memory after an attack and mysteriously wakes up in Tijuana, has been put on pause. The film already didn’t have a director after the departure of Deadpool 2 man David Leitch even though the script was complete and the project had a go-ahead.
The fourth installment of the hit-action franchise Bad Boys was about to be put into gear but Sony as well is now reassessing its options. Smith has only received 40 pages of the script thus far for the Bad Boys 4 but as with any established franchise, things could have moved pretty quickly here.
Smith’s next project Emancipation is to take place with Training Day director Antoine Fuqua for Apple TV Plus. The movie is set amid the US Civil War where Smith plays Peter, a slave who escapes from a Louisiana plantation after being nearly whipped to death, and goes on to try to make his way north to join the Union Army.
There’s no release date for Emancipation for now except for an expected date of 2022. It’s fair to say though that things are a little tough for Smith right now. Let’s see how things roll.