Will Smith has dropped out of one movie, only to sign up for another one. Nothing is set in stone, but he may star in a new project about the ongoing football concussion controversy.
This is the project that Ridley Scott was linked to back in November 2013. While the Prometheus director is still involved as co-producer, he will no longer be directing. According to Deadline, it is now being directed by writer Peter Landesman (Parkland).
While the director was thinking of making it after wrapping Exodus, he has moved on to other projects, like The Martians and a sequel to Prometheus.
The film does not have a title yet. It will be based on the GQ article “Game Brain” by Jeanne Marie Laskas and will cover football concussions and the alleged process of covering them up to keep players playing. According to Variety, Smith would play Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic neuropathologist who has tried to raise the public’s awareness about concussions.
Scott is producing with Giannina Facio for Scott Free and the Shuman Company’s David Wolthoff and Larry Shuman.
The concussion problem has also inspired Isaiah Washington’s indie Game Time Decision and Parkes/MacDonald Productions’ adaptation of League Of Denial: The NFL, Concussions And The Battle For Truth.
Smith recently left the Legendary sci-fi movie Brilliance and has completed Focus for Warner Bros. with Margot Robbie. That movie comes out on Feb. 27.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com