Will Smith Bags First Major Role Since Oscar Slapgate Incident

Veteran Hollywood star, Will Smith, recently landed his first movie role since his Oscar's slap incident with Chris Rock six months ago. The Oscar winner previously came under fire after he assaulted the comedian on stage. At the time, Rock made an unwelcome joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett's hair loss.

The months after the incident saw the 53-year-old lose out on movie deals and face all round criticism from colleagues and the media. Smith was notably set to be a part of Netflix's "Fast and Loose" as well as Sony's "Bad Boys 4," however both projects were shelved.

The worst seems to be over for the actor as he is currently set to join a movie produced by Paramount Pictures. The project will see him reunite with his longtime friend Akiva Goldsman who he worked on several popular movies with.

Read on to learn more.

Per IndieWire, Smith is currently set to make his anticipated return to acting six months after the actor assaulted Rock during the 2022 Oscars event. The 53-year-old is reportedly in talks to appear in "Brilliance," a Paramount Pictures movie.

The project is reportedly a "passion project" for Smith and will see him collaborate with his longtime partner and screenwriter, Goldsman. The duo previously worked together on high-grossing movies like "I, Robot" in 2004, "I Am Legend" in 2007, and 2008's "Hancock."

The actor will produce "Brilliance" via his company Westbrook Studios, in partnership with Ryan Shimazaki and Jon Mone. Greg Lessans and Goldsman, the screenwriter, will produce with Weed Road Pictures, while Shane Solerno will produce via The Story Factory along with James Lassiter.

The film is an adaptation of Marcus Sakey's book and follows the life of the lead character, Nick Cooper. He is a federal agent whose place of work is the Department of Analysis and Response. According to the storyline, Cooper is tasked with the duty of hunting down the tiny faction of non-neurotypical people who are referred to as "Brilliants" or "abnorms" due to their special powers.

The twist to the plot is that despite his job requirement, Cooper himself is a "Brilliant" and the father to a "Brilliant" daughter. His special powers allow him to look into the future, and the agent eventually attempts to stop a civil war from breaking out.

In addition to his role as the book's author, Sackey will also serve as the project's co-producer. Besides "Brilliance," the author has written two other sequels, including "A Better World" and "Written in Fire." This pattern means that the film could blossom into a trilogy.

Oscar attendees and audiences at home received quite a shock earlier this year when Smith walked on stage to slap Rock for an unappreciated joke. The comedian reportedly talked about Jada's hair and likened her to the lead character in "G.I. Jane 2," who is similarly bald.

The mother of three was previously disguised with a hair loss condition known as alopecia and was open about it. After assaulting Rock on stage, Smith returned to his seat and yelled out to the comedian to stop talking about his wife.

While the 53-year-old was given his first Oscar award that night, the Academy banned him from subsequent Academy-related events for the next ten years. Smith released an Instagram statement months after to apologize to the Academy as well as Rock and everyone who witnessed the incident.

In a lengthy Instagram video in July 2022, Smith apologized for his actions during the award show and said he was "fogged out" after the attack, which was why he didn't say anything during his acceptance speech.

The 53-year-old called his actions "unacceptable" and revealed that as of then, he had not spoken to Rock personally; however, the comedian said he would reach out when he was ready to talk.

"I was fogged out by that point," the actor explained. "It's all fuzzy. I've reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is he's not ready to talk, and when he is, he will reach out."

"So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you," Smith continued. "My behavior was unacceptable, and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk." He concluded his video by saying he was devoted to creating "light and love and joy in this world" and asked his fans to hang on.