Will Smith is ready to put his hero hair back on in the action thriller Supermax, the streaming rights of which now sit with Amazon MGM following a major $70 million payout. With his last big release being Bad Boys: Ride or Die in 2024, Smith has largely stayed away from the screens and more in the headlines for his string of upcoming projects like Fast and Loose, I Am Legend 2, The Council, Hancock 2, and so on, slated for 2026 and 2027.

The upcoming action thriller from Amazon MGM, Supermax, has now joined that long list.

Recent reports reveal that Supermax, an action thriller helmed by Halloween director David Gordon Green, will star Will Smith. Amazon MGM acquired the worldwide rights to the movie from Miramax for $70 million, according to Deadline, which broke the news of the deal. On an undetermined date, the studio will release Supermax directly on Prime Video rather than in cinemas.

Production is scheduled to start in mid-August, with the casting still in progress. Reportedly, the hunt for a female role is still going on to play Smith's FBI agent partner. David Weil and David J. Rosen, who are well-known for their work on the television shows Invasion and Hunters, are the writers of the film. Producers Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona of The Picture Company are involved in the creative team. Furthermore, Will Smith and Adam Fishbach will also produce through Smith's Westbrook.

Along with associate producer Natalie Laine Williams, Weil and Rosen will also serve as executive producers. Other EPs include SVP Spencer Ela, COO Thom Zadra, President of Film Alexandra Loewy, and Miramax CEO Jonathan Glickman. It is worth noting that this project might have made it to the Cannes market, but Amazon's swift acquisition of the film intervened beforehand to prevent that from happening. This move is, in fact, testament to the studio's confidence in Will Smith and the movie.

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However, this is not some arrow in the dark move by the streaming giant, rather an informed decision with substantial proof.

Since 2024's Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which was the actor's first significant motion picture since the Chris Rock incident on stage at the 2022 Academy Awards, Will Smith has not been seen on screen. With more than $400 million worldwide, Bad Boys 4 was a success, indicating that Smith still had an undeniable market pull.

Since the Oscars incident, he has not been cast in an original film. This movie solves that issue, too. The announcement of Supermax comes as a breather among the surfeit of rumors of Will Smith’s divorce with wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The news has taken some heat off that topic and focused the discussion on the actor’s career for now.

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Do you think Will Smith’s return to familiar grounds with Supermax amount for something big? Share your thoughts in the comments.