Just months after the controversial Oscars slap, Smith is already planning his comeback. Photo / Getty Images
Just months after the controversial Oscars slap, Smith is already planning his comeback. Photo / Getty Images
Will Smith is reportedly planning his Hollywood comeback and is moving ahead with plans to star in a major new blockbuster.
The move comes just months after the highly publicised Oscars controversy where the actor slapped Chris Rock live on stage following a joke about Smith's with Jada Pinkett-Smith.
The53-year-old actor has now taken matters into his own hands and is working on returning to the big screen with I Am Legend 2, The Sun reported.
The sequel is said to be being produced by his production company Westbrook Studios and will see Smith reprise his role as Doctor Robert Neville, a scientist desperately searching for the cure to a virus.
Smith's performance in the original earned critical acclaim, and the film made over half a billion dollars at the global box office.
US actor Will Smith and his wife actress Jada Pinkett Smith. Photo / Getty Images
Industry insiders believe the Oscar-winning writer Akiva Goldsman - who originally adapted Richard Mathewson's 1954 novel for the 2007 movie - is returning for the sequel and is planning to include Smith's character.
A source told the Sun: "The script is being written mentioning his character and as yet Will remains attached to the project.
"The concept is still to be signed off by Warner Brothers, but there has been no indication that Will is off the project.
"Obviously he is the producer of the film and his production company is in charge while the development continues. And Will himself is undergoing therapy and taking time away from the limelight."
Will Smith slaps Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. Photo / Getty Images
However, the source said: "The reality is that Will will make a comeback at some point and it will be simply down to which studio will be the one to take a chance on him.
"The negative sentiments from the public about his career have certainly reduced in recent weeks as the world has moved on thanks to stories like the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial.
They concluded by explaining how Hollywood loves comeback stories and that "in two years' time things could look very different - and Will could return to the screen".
This comes only a month after Sony head Tom Rothman revealed the studio was still considering Bad Boys 4 - and hadn't ruled out Smith to star.
Speaking at Cinemacon, he said: "That movie's been in development and still is. There weren't any brakes to pump because the car wasn't moving.
"That was a very unfortunate thing that happened, and I don't think it's really my place to comment, except to say that I've known Will Smith for many years, and I know him to be a good person."
"That was an example of a very good person having a very bad moment, in front of the world."
He concluded by stating he believed Smith's apology and regret were genuine.
