Will Smith and David Gordon Green Team for ‘Supermax’ at Amazon/MGM, Skipping Theaters for Streaming

What an odd actor/director duo.

David Gordon Green, once an indie darling and later a Blumhouse IP hitmaker, has decided to team up with Will Smith on the action-thriller “Supermax,” about two FBI agents investigating a murder that has taken place in the world’s most secure prison.

According to Deadline, Amazon/MGM has picked up worldwide rights in the $70 million range, making this Smith’s first non-franchise studio movie in years. However, the plan is for the film to bypass theaters entirely and go straight to streaming.

Smith’s FBI agent partner in “Supermax” is a female role, with production set to begin in August. The screenplay comes from David Weil and David J. Rosen, the duo behind “Hunters.”

In a way, this is a project involving two artists currently searching for new identities in their careers.

Green, still shaking off the backlash from “The Exorcist: Believer,” quickly pivoted to the smaller “Nutcrackers” in 2024, starring Ben Stiller, which received mixed reviews and debuted on Hulu. Once viewed by critics as a possible heir to Terrence Malick after early films like “George Washington,” “All the Real Girls,” “Undertow,” and “Snow Angels,” and championed by Roger Ebert, Green later directed acclaimed films including “Joe,” “Stronger,” and “Prince Avalanche” before spending the last seven years helming three “Halloween” sequels and “The Exorcist: Believer” for Blumhouse.

Smith, meanwhile, continues his Hollywood comeback after the infamous 2022 slap involving Chris Rock and remains in a rebranding phase of his career. His Oscar win for “King Richard” was overshadowed by the controversy, the resulting 10-year ban from Academy events, and the unusually subdued slate of projects he has taken on since then.

Together, Green and Smith may need each other at this point, though the collaboration will arrive as a straight-to-streaming project.