According to The Hollywood Reporter, an unnamed source just revealed that Sony has pressed “pause” on the development of Bad Boys 4. In addition, Netflix has also stepped away from working with Smith, dropping its plans for Fast and Loose, a movie that would have starred Smith as an amnesiac crime boss who is living a double life as a CIA agent. In addition to the films that we’ve mentioned, the same report claims that the status of several films starring The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor currently in pre-production is in limbo. The fallout from Smith’s embarrassing moment is not going to stop anytime soon. It’s easy to understand why studios aren’t too interested to work with Smith if only temporarily. No studio wants to spend millions of dollars only to waste its investment in an actor who audiences might never want to see on-screen again. The risk-reward ratio is too high even if Smith stars in otherwise safe and sure-fire hit movies like the now-paused Bad Boys 4. Most likely, all parties are waiting on Apple to confirm when the $120-million-dollar film, Emancipation, will drop, and how well it does among critics and audiences alike. For now, Smith doesn’t need to work and the world won’t ever stop spinning. Sony, Netflix, and other studios won’t die or live based on whether their “canceled” projects starring Will Smith get made or not. It’s a real shame that Smith had to hit this brick wall just right after winning an Oscar award for his role in King Richard and it might mean that the I Am Legend sequel might be delayed indefinitely, but that’s just life. The good news is that audiences are not going to be missing Smith for long. It would be a huge mistake to consider Smith, a cultural icon, a persona non-grata following decades of bankability. If anything, Smith might end up spending the rest of his days trying to prove that he’s still just as bankable as ever, which isn’t a bad thing.
