Will Smith to climb aboard adaptation of sci-fi thriller Brilliance

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The not-so-fresh Prince, Will Smith, has been spinning his wheels in the last few years, playing it either safe or strange, with 2012's in-the-can MEN IN BLACK III and last summer's belly flop AFTER EARTH doing very little to make use of Smith's abilities. Now, the actor is looking at a new sci-fi jaunt with an adaptation of the sci-fi novel BRILLIANCE. Written by author Marcus Sakey, the novel is described as such (via Amazon):

In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called “brilliants,” and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in—and betray his own kind.

Smith would play the agent, of course, with Julius Onah directing a script by David Koepp. The actor recently kicked himself out of the INDEPENDENCE DAY sequel and will next be seen in the heist flick, FOCUS, with Margot Robbie and Rodrigo Santoro. A lot of folks would like to see the actor reteam with Michael Bay and Martin Lawrence for BAD BOYS 3, but it seems he's got other plans. If BRILLIANCE is one of them, I'll gladly wait, as it sounds like the most promising project Smith has had on the horizon in a long time.