Everything Will Smith Has in the Works Post-Slap — from the Confirmed to the Not-So-Sure

“Emancipation” (2022)

Apple TV+’s onetime Oscar hopeful “Emancipation” made little impact upon release in theaters and on the streamer — and was ultimately forgotten by awards season after debuting in December 2022. Despite rumblings that Smith could be a consecutive Best Actor contender again on the heels of “King Richard,” IndieWire’s David Ehrlich called the biopic a “B-movie with delusions of grandeur.” 

“By virtue of its release date, subject matter, and star power alone, ‘Emancipation’ was created to be seen through the same narrow lens of the system that produced it, and The Slap — an existential threat to any feature so dependent upon the Oscars for market enthusiasm — ironically did even more to yoke the movie into Hollywood’s annual horse race at its own expense,” Ehrlich wrote. 

He continued in the review, “For his part, Smith gives a simple but committed turn as a man who will stop at nothing to return home, fraught as that word must be for anyone so enslaved. A cynic might think of Smith’s work here as the kind of self-abasing performance that a movie star gives before they win an Oscar, and it’s true that ‘Emancipation’ was in the works long before Smith emerged as the Best Actor favorite for ‘King Richard.'” 

“Brilliance”

Smith marked his first project post-Oscars slap as a producer on “Brilliance,” the narrative feature directorial debut from two-time Academy Award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms. Marvel”). Longtime Smith collaborator Akiva Goldsman (“I Robot,” “I Am Legend,” “Hancock”) is penning the script based on Marcus Sakey’s sci-fi novel of the same name. 

The book centers on Nick Cooper, a federal agent who works for the Department of Analysis and Response and is tasked with tracking down the 1 percent of non-neurotypical people deemed “abnorms,” or “Brilliants,” who are born with special powers. The character Nick is a parent of a Brilliant daughter and is also an abnorm himself, in a “Blade Runner”-esque twist. He has the ability to see the future and ultimately tries to stop a civil war.

Smith will produce through his company Westbrook Studios, with Goldsman also producing. 

“Bad Boys 4”

Long after “Bad Boys 4” was announced in 2020, Sony chairman Tom Rothman assured fans that the sequel was still on track despite Smith’s behavior at the Oscars. “That was an example of a very good person having a very bad moment, in front of the world,” Rothman said of Smith. “I believe his apology and regret is genuine, and I believe in forgiveness and redemption.” 

Smith and co-star Martin Lawrence will reprise their respective Miami detective roles for the fourth franchise installment, which officially entered pre-production in January 2023. “Bad Boys for Life” helmers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah return to direct using a script by Chris Bremner. 

“I Am Legend 2”

A decade after Smith shut down rumors of a second installment, the actor signed on to “I Am Legend 2” — thanks to co-star Michael B. Jordan’s story concept. 

“It was one of those ones I was gonna leave alone, and then I heard the idea,” Smith told Entertainment Tonight. “That might work. I think we can do that.”

Smith teased that while the plot is still under wraps, “it’s a really, really cool concept,” and that Jordan was “part of creating the idea.” Both Smith and Jordan are set to produce. Akiva Goldsman, who co-wrote the original film, is returning to write the sequel. 

While plot details are still under wraps, “I Am Legend 2” will be set 20 to 30 years after the events of the first film. Screenwriter and producer Goldsman said “The Last of Us” — a video game series now adapted on HBO — directly inspired the film’s follow-up. 

“We trace back to the original [Richard] Matheson book, and the alternate ending as opposed to the released ending in the original film,” Goldsman said of the Manhattan-based post-apocalyptic film. “What Matheson was talking about was that man’s time on the planet as the dominant species had come to an end. That’s a really interesting thing we’re going to get to explore.” 

Goldsman added, “There will be a little more fidelity to the original text.” 

“Planes, Trains, and Automobiles”

Smith and Kevin Hart are set to star in and produce a remake of “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” about two travelers who are forced into friendship due to a series of mishaps. Aeysha Carr (“Everybody Hates Chris,” “The Carmichael Show”) is set to write and direct the updated take on the John Hughes 1987 comedy. But the project’s exact future is still in transit.

“[We’re] trying to crack the code on this one,” Hart told Entertainment Tonight Canada. “But, like anything else, you cannot do it until it’s right, and sometimes that takes time. Lots of drafts, lots of rewrites, lots of brainstorming. We’ll get it there, and when we do, it will be what it’s supposed to be, which is amazing.” 

Hart added of working with Smith, “Excited to figure something out with my guy. Both from Philadelphia, we’ve yet to do anything and we’re just doing ourselves a disservice.” 

“The Council”

The fate of this one isn’t quite so sure.

Smith is set to reunite with “Concussion” writer-director Peter Landesman for upcoming true story “The Council.” Based on the life of Harlem mob boss Nicky Barnes, the film will spotlight the never-before-told story of a crime syndicate consisting of seven Black men who ruled Harlem in the 1970s and early 80s. Barnes was dubbed “Mr. Untouchable” by the New York Times. Landesman, who also penned “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” will direct, with additional casting not yet announced.

“The Council” was set at Netflix in 2019 with no recent updates.

“Fast and Loose”

Netflix has been playing fast and loose with the details about the shelved action movie. Originally set to be helmed by “Bullet Train” filmmaker and stunt whiz David Leitch, “Fast and Loose” is currently without a director, but Smith is still listed as attached to the project. The film follows a criminal who loses his memory after an attack and is forced to uncover his own past after waking up in Mexico with no recollection of how he got there. The criminal learns he has two identities, one as a crime lord and the other as an undercover CIA agent. The script was written by “Red” and “Meg” scribes Erich and Jon Hoeber.