Oscar winner Will Smith (55) will take on the lead role in “Sugar Bandits,” “one of the hottest offerings at the European Film Market this week in Berlin,” as “Deadline” describes the film.
The project with the biggest budget on the market – $80 million according to hearsay – tells the story of a former Special Forces soldier who joins an elite unit that wants to eradicate the drug trade in Boston, Massachusetts. However, he soon learns that things are not as they seem…
Years ago the project was at Universal and directed by Joe Carnahan (54, “The A-Team – The Movie”), but now it is being introduced to the independent market. The action crime film is based on the screenplay and novel “Devils In Exile” by Chuck Hogan (56).
Will Smith will not play the lead role, but will co-star in the film. A director has not yet been chosen.
The last Will Smith film to come to market was “Emancipation,” which was sold to Apple in a major auction. He is also currently working on Sony’s “Bad Boys 4.” This is the first major film Smith announced to the independent market since his Oscar scandal in 2022.
The shadow of the Oscar night two years ago still hangs over all of his projects. On March 27, 2022, Will Smith hit Chris Rock (59) in the face on stage at the Oscars. The comedian had previously made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s (52) bald head. Will Smith’s wife shaved her head bald due to hair loss. “Don’t put my wife’s name in your damn mouth,” Smith yelled after the slap.
A short time after the scandal, Will Smith actually received the Oscar for his leading role in “King Richard”. He was later expelled from the Academy, which awards the world’s most important film prize.
