Will Smith lands new lead movie role in action thriller
Amazon MGM has secured worldwide rights to Will Smith’s new prison-set thriller Supermax in a major streaming deal as the actor continues his Hollywood return following his assault of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
Will Smith is returning to the big screen in a leading role with Supermax.
As Hollywood continues to reopen its doors to the Oscar-winning actor, 57, following the fallout from his 2022 Academy Awards on-stage assault on Chris Rock, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Men in Black star is set to lead the Amazon MGM project after the studio acquired worldwide rights from Miramax in a reported $70 million deal, according to Deadline.
The film – a new action thriller from Halloween director David Gordon Green – will go directly to Prime Video rather than receiving a theatrical release, and is described as a “propulsive and twist-laden action thriller” centred on two FBI agents investigating a murder inside the world’s most secure prison.
Will is set to play a character named Rex, with additional casting currently underway ahead of a planned mid-August production start.
The screenplay has been written by David Weil and David J. Rosen, whose previous television credits include Hunters and Invasion.
Producers on the project include Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona for The Picture Company, while Will and Adam Fishbach will produce via Westbrook, the company Will founded with his partner Jada Pinkett Smith.
The news marks another significant step in Will’s career resurgence after his appearance in 2024’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which grossed more than $404 million worldwide and reunited him with Martin Lawrence in the long-running action-comedy franchise which helped cement Will’s blockbuster status in the 1990s.
The success of the fourth Bad Boys instalment was widely viewed as evidence audiences had not turned away from the actor despite the backlash that followed the 2022 Oscars ceremony, where Will walked on stage and struck Chris Rock after the comic made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith.
Since then, Will has largely avoided starring roles in original films, although industry momentum around the actor has gradually returned.
Earlier this year, Westbrook signed a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures focused on developing franchise films, signalling renewed confidence in Will as a bankable Hollywood figure.
Will has also remained in headlines in recent months following ongoing discussion around his marriage to Jada and renewed scrutiny of the couple’s public relationship after his wife’s memoir revelations and apparent separate living arrangements became a recurring topic of gossip surrounding the couple.
The actor has meanwhile continued to trade on nostalgia surrounding his most famous roles, with social media clips from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Independence Day and Men in Black continuing to trend regularly among fans revisiting his career highs.
David Weil and David J. Rosen will executive produce alongside associate producer Natalie Weil.
Miramax chief executive Jonathan Glickman, president of film Alexandra Loewy, chief operating officer Thom Zadra and senior vice-president Spencer Ela are also attached as executive producers on the project.
