Will Smith plots first major acting comeback project with Paramount Pictures’ Brilliance

Will Smith appears to be planning his acting return nearly six months after he infamously punched comedian Chris Rock onstage at the 94th Academy Awards.

According to Deadlinethe 53-year-old is being eyed to star in filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s directorial debut, Brilliance, with Paramount Pictures.

Described as Smith’s “passionate project,” he will also be producing the project with his longtime collaborator, director Akiva Goldsman, who wrote the script.

Goldsman is behind a number of Smith-starring roles, such as I, Robot (2004), I Am Legend (2007), and Hancock (2008).

Despite it being a potential comeback in his career, a source told Deadline that Smith “has not yet committed” to star in the film.

Goldsman’s script is an adaptation of author Marcus Sakey’s novel of the same name, who is also listed as one of the film’s producers.

It’s about 1% of the human population born since 1980 with extraordinary abilities.

The hope is that Smith will play the film’s lead actor, Federal Agent Nick Cooper.

He is a ‘brilliant’ member of the Analysis and Response Department who has used his abilities to track down terrorists.

When confronted by his most dangerous target yet, a brilliant fellow with a thirst for destruction, Cooper will have to “violate everything he believes in and betray his own kind,” the statement said. short content.

Smith will produce Brilliance through his company Westbrook Studios, along with co-president Jon Mone and producer Ryan Shimazaki.

As for Goldsman, the acclaimed director will team up with producer Greg Lessans through Weed Road Pictures, as well as Shane Salerno of The Story Factory and James Lassiter of Overbrook Entertainment.

Director Obaid-Chinoy has amassed an impressive list of TV work and short films, including the Academy Award-winning short films Saving Face and A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness.

While this may be Smith’s acting return, the star has already landed his first project since hitting the headlines at this year’s Academy Awards.

He was captured on the set of the upcoming National Geographic and Disney+ docuseries, Welcome To Earth, in Ecuador earlier this month.

The repentant actor also traveled to India in April and was spotted in Zanzibar, Tanzania in May with his wife Jada Pinkett, 50, where they were working on projects at the District Hospital in Bagamoyo.

It was reported Tuesday that Smith’s Apple TV+ movie, Emancipation, which was shot in late 2021, is reportedly set to release in early December.

Because of the backlash Smith received after his Oscar Night blow, Variety originally reported that Apple had decided to delay the film’s release until 2023.

Emancipation, co-produced by Smith’s Westbrook Studios, was originally scheduled for a fall premiere.

With a rumored December 2022 release date on the horizon, this would make the film and Smith potential contenders for the upcoming awards season.

The Academy confirmed earlier this year that “each feature film must have an eligible release date between January 1 and December 31, 2022” to be eligible, as per Deadline.

Smith is slowly returning to Hollywood since he punched Chris Rock at the Oscars in March.

He did so after the comedian on stage made a bald joke about his wife Jada, who shaved her head because she has alopecia.

Less than an hour after his outburst, Smith was awarded the Best Actor Oscar and received a standing ovation for his tearful speech in which he called himself a protector of his family and expressed a desire to be a “vessel of love.”

Although he apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees during his speech, he did not offer a public apology to Rock until the next day.

Before the Academy could decide what punishment to impose for the incident, Will resigned from the organization.

Although his departure meant he could no longer vote for the Oscars, he was still able to attend the show at the time.

However, since then the Academy has banned him from attending the ceremony for 10 years, although he could still be nominated to win an Oscar.

He later posted an apology video on social media for hitting Rock, describing his behavior as “unacceptable” and that Rock was “not ready to talk” about the incident with him.