Will Smith is starting to witness what his post-slap career might look like. It’s actually not that bad. Opportunities are still coming in. Go figure.
After the opening weekend success of ‘Bad Boys 4,’ Smith is looking at potentially starring in a new series by Westworld and Fallout creators Jonah Nolan and Lisa Joy. Matt Belloni is reporting that Smith is in talks with the showrunners to topline a television project for their Kilter Films unit.
The actor actually came to them with an idea for a series set in the world of A.I. They’re still working out whether this will be a limited series or composed of a few seasons. Nolan and Joy had several meetings with Smith before ‘Bad Boys 4’ opened to $107 million worldwide, so it’ll be interesting to see if the actor stays interested in this TV endeavor or decides to seek more film projects.
Smith currently has no post-Bad Boys projects lined up, although his “I Am Legend” sequel is a real possibility to shoot next year, with Michael B Jordan set to co-star with him. Otherwise, soon after the slap, Smith had two percolating Netflix projects — “Bright 2,” and “Fast & Loose” — canceled by the streamer.
Smith’s assault of Chris Rock during the Oscars put his career in jeopardy, or, at the very least, in temporary hiatus, but he’s now reappearing in the spotlight. Many have forgotten that Smith actually won the Oscar for Best Actor the night of the slap. It was supposed to be one of the most joyous moments of his career, but was overshadowed by a shameful incident.
Smith was himself slapped with a 10-year ban by the Academy, he can’t attend any Oscar-related events until 2033. The irony about that AMPAS ban is that, technically speaking, Harvey Weinstein can still attend the Oscars, he hasn’t been banned.
Earlier in the week, comedian Rob Schneider, a close friend of Rock’s, called Smith a “liar” and a “fraud,” he stated "Will Smith is a tool. Will Smith has been hiding the fact of who he really is and it was exposed that night that he's really an a--hole."
"But it's a deep, dark thing to do that in front of all those people and to a really great legendary comedian who's literally the best comedian of our generation," he added. "You wouldn't have this whole wave of comedy that came after if it wasn't for Chris Rock. He's kicked open the doors."
"Will is a dickhead," he continued. "The thing is that's how politically correct the Academy is. That they were so cowardly. Because if I would have done that, they would have been hauled off to prison, but because they were so worried about being racist or whatever, they were like. 'We can't offend.'"
Regardless of Schneider’s comments, it does look like audiences threw a lifeline at Smith with the surprising success of ‘Bad Boys 4,’ but there are still plenty of people still bitter over the whole thing. I can only imagine what Chris Rock is thinking right now, seeing his attacker mounting a comeback and being greeted back by Hollywood.