{"id":2193811,"date":"2025-12-10T17:54:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T17:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2193811"},"modified":"2025-12-10T17:54:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T17:54:07","slug":"will-smith-appears-onbel-air-series-finale-in-surprise-cameo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/will-smith-appears-onbel-air-series-finale-in-surprise-cameo\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Smith appears on&#8217;Bel-Air&#8217; series finale in surprise cameo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2025%2F12%2Fwill-smith.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Now this is a story all about how Will Smith went back to Bel-Air. <\/p>\n<p>The actor, 57, made a surprise cameo on the series finale of\u00a0Peacock\u2019s \u201cBel-Air,\u201d 29 years after the \u201cFresh Prince of Bel-Air\u201d ended in 1996.<\/p>\n<p>The modern-day reboot followed\u00a0Jabari Banks\u00a0playing Will as he moves across the country from Philadelphia to Bel-Air. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Jabari Banks as Will and Will Smith as \u201cOG\u201d in \u201cBel-Air.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">PEACOCK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On Monday, the Season 4 ending saw Smith appear on the show for the first time, despite being an executive producer since the start in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>In the scene, Will is seen talking to \u201cOG\u201d (Smith) who is sharing words of wisdom to the high school graduate about leaving California for college in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Will Smith makes a special cameo in \u201cBel-Air.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">PEACOCK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cTrust me, you\u2019re going to mess some things up and do some dumb s\u2013t. But you\u2019re human \u2014 you\u2019ll learn, you\u2019ll grow,\u201d Smith said. \u201cLife goes by fast, man, try to enjoy the ride.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to showrunner Carla Banks Waddles, having Smith included was strategically planned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we pitched the season out early from the writers\u2019 room, [Smith] was a part of it,\u201d she told\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2025\/12\/bel-air-interview-series-finale-will-smith-janet-hubert-1236642041\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Deadline<\/a> on Monday. \u201cWe were like, \u2018This is the season. We want him in the finale, and we know he wants to do the show. We\u2019ve always wanted him on the show, and now\u2019s the time, because there\u2019s no more show after this.&#8217;\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Jabari Banks and Will Smith share a moment in the series finale of \u201cBel-Air.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">PEACOCK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But just in case Smith had other plans, the show had an alternative ending ready.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_32-0\">\u201cWe found out about two weeks before that he\u2019s going to be able to get back to the States and do it,\u201d she said. \u201cAs you can imagine, he\u2019s got an uber-busy schedule. We had days when we had given up hope, and others where we were like, could it be? I\u2019m just glad that it worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Show creator Morgan Cooper called seeing Smith and Banks, 27, filming together \u201cunforgettable.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Will Smith in \u201cThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9NBC\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_10-0\">\u201cTo see Jabari and Will together just felt like a full circle moment. It was seven years in the making for that moment to happen,\u201d he told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/bel-air-series-finale-will-smith-cameo-morgan-cooper-11863295\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Entertainment Weekly<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt took me back to 2019 when I first met Will Smith, and we were down in Miami developing the show,\u201d Cooper, 33, recalled. \u201cTo be standing there behind [the] monitor, calling action for my hero\u2026 it was just such a blessing and I\u2019m so proud of the quality of work that they delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The creator also told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvline.com\/2045668\/bel-air-series-finale-ending-explained-will-smith-cameo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TVLine<\/a> that having both Wills come together for the first and last time was the \u201cperfect way to cap off this seven-year journey of bringing\u00a0\u2018Bel-Air\u2019 to life.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Will Smith in the \u201990s sitcom. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9NBC\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_19-0\">\u201cI\u2019m so proud of Jabari, because to stand and act with Will Smith, you know, he\u2019s the most iconic actor of our time. Jabari approached that scene with so much heart and so much fearlessness,\u201d Cooper continued. \u201cThose are big shoes to fill, and every step of the way, he has risen to the occasion. I couldn\u2019t be more proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Banks, it was a surreal moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis cameo in\u00a0\u2018Bel-Air\u2019 feels like a truly poetic return, and I\u2019m beyond excited for fans \u2014 not only of our show,\u00a0\u2018Bel-Air,\u2019 but of\u00a0\u2018The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air\u2019\u00a0\u2014 to experience it and feel that  ull-circle moment for themselves,\u201d he said in a statement shared by Peacock, per <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/will-smith-makes-surprise-cameo-on-bel-air-series-finale-11865239\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">People<\/a>. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Jabari Banks as Will, Simone Joy Jones as Lisa in \u201cBel-Air.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Anne Marie Fox\/PEACOCK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 2024, Smith, who starred in \u201cFresh Prince\u201d for six seasons starting in 1990, got candid on watching actress Coco Jones on \u201cBel-Air.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The singer, 27, played Hilary Banks, and was able to capture the essence of both the original series and reboot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just loved how confident she was to have total respect for the original but be able to take her room to embody the character with her own heart and interpretation,\u201d Smith told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vvc5wVcaEkM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Access Hollywood<\/a> at the time. \u201cAnd that\u2019s really, really hard to do. So, I applaud that.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Jabari Banks as Will, Thai Douglas as Gerald in \u201cBel-Air.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Greg Gayne\/PEACOCK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>His cameo comes after the \u201cMen in Black\u201d star came under fire in 2022 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/03\/27\/will-smith-slaps-chris-rock-at-2022-oscars-in-wild-censored-moment\/\">for slapping Chris Rock across the face<\/a> at the Oscars.<\/p>\n<p>Smith could be heard saying: \u201cKeep my wife\u2019s name out of your f\u2013king mouth,\u201d after the comedian, 60, made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, 54, being bald.<\/p>\n<p>In July of that year, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/07\/29\/will-smith-apologizes-to-chris-rock-im-not-a-piece-of-s-t\/\">Smith revealed he \u201creached out to Chris<\/a>, and the message that came back is that he is\u00a0not ready to talk.\u201d  <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Coco Jones in a shot from \u201cBel-Air.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">PEACOCK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cSo I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you,\u201d Smith said in his <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=jXrxDKwlA_s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube\u00a0video<\/a>. \u201cMy behavior was unacceptable, and I\u2019m here whenever you\u2019re ready to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cI\u2019m human and\u00a0I made a mistake\u00a0and I\u2019m trying not to think of myself as a piece of s\u2013t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since the incident, Smith has continued to collaborate on various projects, including working as an executive producer on \u201cCobra Kai\u201d from 2019 to 2025, and an executive producer on 2023\u2019s \u201cAfrican Queens: Njinga.\u201d He also starred in and served as a producer on \u201cBad Boys: Ride or Die\u201d in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>In March, he even boasted that he\u2019s \u201cback on top\u201d when he <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/03\/28\/entertainment\/will-smith-addresses-chris-rock-oscars-slap-on-new-album-you-better-keep-his-wifes-name-out-of-your-mouth\/\">dropped his \u201cBased on a True Story\u201d <\/a>album, where he also resurfaced the Rock scandal. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now this is a story all about how Will Smith went back to Bel-Air. The actor, 57, made a surprise cameo on the series finale of\u00a0Peacock\u2019s \u201cBel-Air,\u201d 29 years after the \u201cFresh Prince of Bel-Air\u201d ended in 1996. The modern-day reboot followed\u00a0Jabari Banks\u00a0playing Will as he moves across the country from Philadelphia to Bel-Air. Jabari [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2193812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[371702,21751,21741,22205,369621,21913,306886,307920],"class_list":["post-2193811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-bel-air","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-television","tag-the-fresh-prince-of-bel-air","tag-tv","tag-tv-reboots","tag-will-smith"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Will-Smith-appears-onBel-Air-series-finale-in-surprise-cameo.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2193811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2193811"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2193811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2193813,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2193811\/revisions\/2193813"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2193812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2193811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2193811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2193811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}