Where Will Smith's Upcoming Projects Stand in Wake of Oscars Slap, from 'I Am Legend 2' to 'Bad Boys 4'

The King Richard star has since apologized for his behavior at the Oscars and resigned from the Academy

Published on April 4, 2022 08:02 PM

Will Smith's A-list career looks a little different in the immediate wake of his outburst on the Oscars stage.

The newly minted Best Actor winner, 53, resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Friday due to his behavior at the ceremony March 27, when he hit Chris Rock onstage in front of millions of viewers.

Smith said he will "fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct" and admitted his actions were "shocking, painful and inexcusable" The "heartbroken" movie star added, "Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason."

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So what happens now to the multiple projects Smith had lined up prior to the incident? Read on for what we know so far.

Bad Boys 4

Smith recently found success re-teaming with costar Martin Lawrence for a third Bad Boys movie titled Bad Boys for Life in 2020, 25 years after the original entry.

In January 2020, a fourth movie was officially announced with screenwriter Chris Bremner again tasked with the script, according to The Hollywood Reporter. THR reported this past weekend that Smith had been given about 40 pages of the in-progress script treatment prior to the Oscars, and cited a source saying the movie is currently on hold.

A spokesperson for Sony did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Emancipation

Smith's AppleTV+ thriller Emancipation is already in post-production, though a release date has not yet been set. A March 8 press release said the film would debut "before the end of 2022." Directed by Antoine Fuqua (who frequently collaborated with Denzel Washington on movies like The Equalizer and Training Day), Emancipation "tells the triumphant story of a man who escapes from slavery."

A spokesperson for Apple TV+ did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Apple TV+ became the first streaming service to win Best Picture at this year's Oscars when CODA claimed the honor.

In September, Smith told GQ that he had "always avoided making films about slavery" in his career because he "didn't want to show Black people in that light." He explained at the time, "I wanted to be a superhero. So I wanted to depict Black excellence alongside my white counterparts. I wanted to play roles that you would give to Tom Cruise. And the first time I considered it was Django [Unchained]. But I didn't want to make a slavery film about vengeance."

"This was one that was about love and the power of Black love," Smith said of Emancipation. "And that was something that I could rock with. We were going to make a story about how Black love makes us invincible."

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I Am Legend 2

Three weeks before the Oscars, Smith announced he is returning for a sequel to his 2007 movie I Am Legend, this time with Michael B. Jordan as his costar and co-producer.

"It was one of those ones I was gonna leave alone, and then I heard the idea," Smith told Entertainment Tonight shortly after the news broke last month.

Though plot details remain secret, Smith added that upon hearing the concept, he thought to himself, "That might work. I think we can do that." He added, "I can't talk about it yet, but it's a really, really cool concept and [Jordan] was a part of creating the idea."

No further update has been given about the project, which is in early stages. When Deadline broke the news, a director was still not confirmed to helm the project.

Fast and Loose

This Netflix movie — about a crime boss experiencing memory loss who learns he had a double life as an undercover agent — is on hold after the Oscars incident, THR reported, adding that it's unclear whether the studio will move forward with a different star.

Netflix, however, did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Smith also made the movie Bright with Netflix, and a sequel to that sci-fi action flick was also in the works. Netflix's movies chief Scott Stuber told Variety back in July that a final script was coming soon with Smith and costar Joel Edgerton returning for it.