According to Deadline, Smith is rumored to play Richard Williams, Venus and Serena Williams‘ father, in the movie King Richard. The flick will follow Williams as he overcomes hardship, skepticism and a non-tennis background to train two of the greatest players in the world.
Just as a reference, Richard Williams looks like this…
Source: Julian Finney / Getty
The Internet was swift with their critiques of colorism. While Will Smith is a talented and beloved actor, many people thought it was more appropriate to consider darker skinned actors for the role, especially since the pool isn’t lacking today with people like Mahershala Ali and Idris Elba.
As of Tuesday morning, Smith has yet to confirm whether he’s taking on the role of Williams. However, if he does, this wouldn’t be the first time he’s taken a role that he probably should’ve put more thought into.
As a matter of fact, the 50-year-old has already played a character based off a real-life dark-skinned person.
From questionable scripts to questionable casting, hit the next pages to peep the films Smith should’ve swiped “no” on for the sake of cinema and public opinion.
Wild Wild West
By 1999, Will Smith was at the peak of his acting career with movies like Independence Day and Men in Black already proving his success at the box office. You’d think he would keep the momentum going by snagging The Matrix as his next movie role.
But nah, he chose Wild Wild West, a flat action comedy that was almost universally panned by critics.
Now granted, revisiting Wild Wild West today can probably conjure feelings of nostalgia and campy memories. But all in all, even Will Smith knew he made a bad move. Peep his story of how he dropped The Matrix for Wild Wild West above.
The Legend of Bagger Vance
In this 2000 movie, Matt Damon plays Rannulph Junuh, a war veteran turned alcoholic from Georgia who must rebuild his golf skills to win a $10,000 tournament. Will Smith plays Bagger Vance, a man who mysteriously shows up to help Junuh with his game and life struggles.
The whole plot reeked of magical negro.
Throughout the movie, Bagger’s sole purpose seems to service Junuh’s success. Smith’s character barely got a background story or complex arc.
He could’ve left this one in the White Hollywood pile.
Shark Tale
In 2003, Pixar’s Finding Nemo became one of the most beloved and heartfelt animations since Toy Story.
By 2004, it seemed like Dreamworks tried to copy the formula with another fish movie. But this time, they’d make it a “hipper” more “cooler” fish tale.
It didn’t work.
Shark Tale end up being a shallow flick with jokes that fell flat and pop culture references that verged on annoying. Will Smith’s voice talent could’ve been used much more tastefully.
Concussion
This 2015 movie is the first example of a Will Smith flick that could’ve been great, but certain elements made it fall short of classic status. The movie tells the fascinating story of real-life Dr. Bennet Omalu who takes on the NFL for trying to suppress his research about brain degeneration caused by football play.
Aside from a few story improvements, the movie was almost perfect.
The only issue is Dr. Bennet Omalu is a dark-skinned Nigerian-American who looks nothing like Will Smith. Once again, Will seemed to snag a role he could’ve easily given to the burgeoning Nigerian actors coming out at the time (Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Oyelowo, etc.).
But nope, we had to endure Smith’s faux accent, despite a commendable performance.
Make room for the darker shades Will! Dang.
After Earth
Will Smith and son Jaden Smith struck gold with their tear-jerking chemistry in The Pursuit of Happyness.
Seven years later, they tried to make the magic work again but for some reason, the acting quality fell short. A thin sci-fi narrative didn’t help the situation either. Add in the hit or miss M. Night Shyamalan as director, and you have a less-than-satisfactory movie that could’ve been left in the chamber.
Suicide Squad and Bright
Speaking of directors Will should probably avoid…David Ayer might be one of them. Despite a few solid scripts under his belt (Training Day), his directing endeavors don’t always hit, at least when it comes to sci-fi and fantasy.
Suicide Squad and Bright are two more examples of flicks that could’ve been great thanks to solid performances and interesting worlds, but the plots started to grow a little predictable as the movies went on.
Hopefully, Smith can find that one sci-fi gem that will revive his excellence in the genre, similar to his reign in the 90s.
Aladdin
This one hasn’t even come out yet…
But let’s face it, based off the trailer, the hopes are low.
