One year after the shock that shocked the American film industry, Will Smith is ready to return to Hollywood.

The Men in Black star has largely remained out of the spotlight in the 12 months since slapping host Chris Rock at last year’s Academy Awards. Will Smith is currently preparing to regain his reputation. Sources say the actor seeks to re-establish his commercial reputation, ready to shoot Sony’s Bad Boys 4 and Netflix’s Fast and Loose back-to-back.

Will Smith is currently preparing to regain his reputation

Variety

That strategy would mark a turning point since his last two films, King Richard and Emancipation , were considered awards contenders rather than blockbusters. Although King Richard earned a moderate box office revenue ($39 million worldwide), it was much less than Will Smith’s salary including the $40 million ancillary fee. Smith’s salary skyrocketed after Warner Bros. decided to release King Richard in theaters at the same time it debuted on HBO Max. The studio chose to give the star a full bonus as compensation for the change in distribution plans.

Even if the film’s ticket sales were mediocre, King Richard still brought Will Smith the Best Actor Oscar, unlike Emancipation which did not receive any Oscar nominations.

But after the slap, studio executives were hesitant to do business with Smith again even though he was one of the industry’s biggest stars. “Everyone was waiting to see who would blink first. What mattered was not what he did, but what he did afterward,” said a senior executive at a major film studio, who is still reluctant to work with Smith, said.

It would have been better for Will Smith to have been kicked out of the ceremony after rushing on stage and attacking Rock than to have returned to his seat, accepted the Best Actor Oscar, given a speech and then danced at the ceremony Awards.

Will Smith plays Richard Williams in the movie King Richard

The slap certainly severely reduced Will Smith’s popularity, at least temporarily. A month before the Chirs Rock incident, Netflix green-lighted production on Fast and Loose , but the studio shelved the project after the slap. Sources say Netflix only decided to continue making the big-budget action thriller, about the leader of a criminal organization who loses his memory after an attack, since Sony gave the green light to make Bad. Boys 4 with Will Smith.

“Netflix is ​​definitely not ready to become the first studio to return to doing business with Will Smith,” a close source commented.

However, Will Smith is still one of the highest paid movie stars in Hollywood. Sources say the actor is receiving a quote of $25 million per movie for both Bad Boys 4 and Fast and Loose .

Meanwhile, Will Smith has barely appeared in public over the past year other than the release of his movie Emancipation . He just quietly attended the wedding of Bad Boys 4 director Adil El Arbi in Morocco in August 2022.