Netflix has reportedly abandoned plans to develop a sequel to their 2017 urban fantasy action movie, Bright. The sequel was due to be led by Academy Award winner Will Smith, who has unfortunately been the subject of many headlines due to slapping comedian Chris Rock at the recent 94th Academy Awards. Reports, however, state that the cancellation of Bright 2 did not come as a result of Smith’s behavior at the event.
The news that Bright 2 will no longer happen at Netflix comes courtesy of Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw, who also revealed that a planned nature series from National Geographic, which would have been hosted by Will Smith, has now been put on the back-burner. “NatGeo has delayed the start of production on its big Will Smith show following the Slap. But it’s still happening,” Shaw said via a recent tweet. “Netflix has also abandoned plans to make a sequel to Bright, but that is unrelated to the incident.”
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Directed by David Ayer and written by the now-infamous Max Landis, Bright takes place in an alternate present-day, wherein humans have lived among all manner of fantastical creatures such as orcs, elves, and fairies since the beginning of time. The story centers on two police officers, one a human, the other an orc, who embark on a routine night patrol that will alter the future of their world as they know it.
Battling both their own personal differences as well as an onslaught of enemies, the mismatched cops must work together to protect a young female elf and a long-forgotten relic, which, in the wrong hands, has the power to destroy everything.
Starring Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, and Noomi Rapace, Bright received largely negative reviews from critics thanks largely to its script and poor attempt at social commentary. Despite this, Bright quickly became one of Netflix’s most-streamed movies of all time.
Bright 2 is One of Several Canceled Will Smith Projects
ABC
Since the slap happened, several projects due to be led by Will Smith have been postponed or canceled, including the Netflix thriller Fast and Loose. Apple+ has also declined to comment on when its planned slave dramaEmancipation starring Smith will be released, with Sony having also reportedly paused development on Bad Boys 4. However, it has been stated that many of these cancellations are unrelated to the Oscars incident.
Will Smith has since resigned from the Academy and has been banned from any events for ten years.
Bright and the anime prequel Bright: Samurai Soul are available on Netflix.