Will Smith is back in the movie business and making a return in a big way thanks to none other than Paramount, a studio with questionable streaming practices. A new report reveals that Smith, along with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith and their company Westbrook, has signed a first look deal with Paramount in an effort to produce movies with the intention of being international blockbusters. There is no doubt that Paramount is planning to be the place where Will Smith makes his big push to get back into popular movie culture.
We’re gonna talk about Will Smith, The Slap, his Fresh Prince revival, and how I feel about all this as it relates to his return in a while, but let me first appease the SEO gods by approaching their sacrificial altar and talking about the two movies Smith is hoping can jumpstart his redemption arc in Hollywood.
The New Will Smith Movies At Paramount
First up, Will Smith stars in Sugar Bandits. Based on the novel Devils in Exile by Chuck Hogan (his book Prince of Thieves got adapted into the Ben Affleck crime flick The Town), it’s the story of an Iraq war veteran who decides to enrich his life by robbing Boston drug dealers. Sounds like a decent riff on a crime story. It’s definitely an interesting character for Smith to play since he’s more associated with institutional crimefighters thanks to the Bad Boys and Men in Black movies. There’s definitely a seeming self-awareness in a role like this: a former hero now seen in a disgraced light decides to get morally grey to make things better.
The other project for Will Smith is heading up is something called Rabbit Hole from writer Jon Spaihts. Considering Spaihts has a storied connection to sci-fi tentpole releases (Dune, Prometheus, Passengers) and Smith has always been a fan of the genre, it would not surprise me in the least if Rabbit Hole is another attempt for Smith to use sci-fi as his blockbuster springboard. Remember how he used the genre to try the same launching attempt for his son? Remember After Earth?
Anyways, now I’ll try to quickly summarize how I feel about Will Smith’s return and all this.
The Will Smith Return Is Just Weird
After the infamous Oscars slap, it’s hard for me not to look at everything about Will Smith as bizarre. The fact that slap happened and then he got up to accept his award afterwards is the kind of surreal dissonance you can only get from Hollywood. I’m not of the opinion that the guy needs to be jettisoned into the sun (any more than any other rich dipstick) or never seen from again in the entertainment industry, but now he’s just an off-putting presence and keeps getting off-puttier.
His entire return to music as his Fresh Prince persona has been embarrassing in the extreme. I’m glad if he has a genuine fanbase that enjoys that stuff, and it was always corny to a somewhat pleasant degree, but now it just comes off as an older guy trying to act 22 years old again. I hope he isn’t taking the same approach to new film roles and trying to do the aging action star deal. Unfortunately, I’m betting that’s the case with these new movies.
I don’t wish Will Smith or his return to Hollywood any ill will. In fact, I’d love for him to surprise me with a role that showcases the talent he’s shown in the past. But, the dude is just weird and I think he’s more likely to get weirder than not in this stage of his public persona.
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