Did the Oscar slap hurt Will Smith’s career? For months, there was talk that the controversial violence at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony in 2022 badly damaged the Academy Award-winner’s career, and studios were abandoning ship from his star. Well, the terrific 2024 opening of “Bad Boys Ride Or Die”—$74 million in its opening weekend, $126 million so far after one week—may have suddenly changed all that.
That said, suitors have emerged in recent weeks, even before the film opened. According to Puck News, some of those ready to jump back into business with Smith include Jonah Nolan and Lisa Joy, the creators of “Westworld” and “Fallout.”
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According to Puck, Nolan and Joy are in talks with Smith to star in an unnamed television project for their Kilter Films unit.
The star apparently came to them with an idea for a series set in the world of A.I. According to the outlet, it’s a limited mini-series, or Smith would star in season one only and then hand it off to another actor.
Nolan and Joy apparently had several meetings with Smith before ‘Bad Boys 4’ opened to $107 million worldwide. Now the question is: will Smith stay interested in TV if/when he and his Westbrook production company are offered more films now that ‘Bad Boys’ has put him back on top?
That’s all that’s offered in its early days, but things have been relatively quiet for Smith since he earned a Best Actor Oscar for his turn in 2021’s “King Richard,” the same day, just moments later after the infamous slap. “Emancipation” followed in 2022 for Apple, but that one was already in the can “Bad Boy: Ride Or Die” was already in the works too. Smith is notoriously choosy as well—he turned down Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” for example—but the offers apparently quieted down after the slap.
Will Smith turn to TV? Has ‘Ride Or Die’ suddenly changed everything in his career? Let’s wait and see what happens and if the actor suddenly changes his mind or not.