Is Netflix and Sony halting Will Smith led projects following Oscars slap?

24 May 2022, 15:01

Watch the full confrontation between Will Smith and Chris Rock live on the Oscars stage after gag about Jada Pinkett Smith

Have Netflix and Sony cancelled the projects they had in the pipeline with Will Smith? Here's everything we know so far...

Will Smith shocked the world when he slapped Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars 2022. The 54-year-old actor has now been banned from the Academy Awards for ten years.

Will Smith hallucinated about losing career on drug trip just before Oscars slap

On Sunday (Mar 27) Smith casually walked on stage, and slapped Rock across the face after the comedian made a joke about Will's wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith. 

Rock, 57, compared Jada's shaved head to G.I. Jane – a 1997 film where Demi Moore wears a short hair cut.

The comedian said: “Jada, I love you. I can’t wait for G.I. Jane 2”. However, the joke did not sit well with Jada, as the Hollywood actress rolled her eyes.

Jada opened up about shaving her head last year due to struggles with hair-loss condition alopecia.

Sony chairman Tom Rothman recently stated that the studio behind Bad Boys 4 isn't pausing the production of the film because of the slapping incident despite rumours surfacing.

Speaking with Deadline in a new interview, Rothman stated "No. That was inaccurate. 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. I believe his apology and regret is genuine, and I believe in forgiveness and redemption".

1. Did Netflix and Sony halt their Will Smith projects?

   According to TechRadar, both Netflix and Sony have stepped back from new projects with Will Smith, following the Oscars 2022 slap incident.

   The news came after the Academy banned the actor from the Academy Awards for ten years as the repercussion for striking host Rock on stage.

   Prior to the statement released, Will Smith reigned from the academy.

   

   The actor was working with Netflix on a project, developing a new action-thriller titled Fast and Loose. However, the streaming service have now paused the project.

   The film, which was already did not have a director after the departure of Deadpool 2 man David Leitch, has now reportedly been halted.

   The 53-year-old actor was due to make a fourth instalment of popular franchise 'Bad Boys', after the hit reboot Bad Boys For Life in 2021.

   However, Sony has also reassessed their options, given the incident that went down at the Oscars.

   According to the Hollywood Reporter, the films plot was about a criminal who loses his memory after an attack and mysteriously wakes up in Tijuana.

   After that, the character is forced to discover the clues of his past, leading him to learn that he has been living a double life: in one, he's a rich, ruthless crime lord, in the other, he's an undercover CIA agent.

   

   The film has a completed script and was moving forward until Leitch had left the project. As of now, the project is reportedly on pause.

   Bad Boys 4 is being delayed as Smith has allegedly only received40 pages of the script.

   However, with it being an established action franchise and a hit reboot still fresh in studio executives' mind, you'd have bet on things moving quickly. But it may potentially be halted.

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