Will Smith is on his way back to Hollywood following an altercation with Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards in March. Six months later, Deadline reports that Smith has signed on to produce and potentially star in the film adaptation of the Brilliance book series.
“If 1% of the world’s children were born with powerful gifts, how would society adapt to them? The Brilliance novel trilogy is set in a future where non-neurotypical people — demonized by society as ‘twists’ or ‘abnorms’ — are threatening the status quo of the ‘normal’ population with their unique gifts. They are officially labeled as ‘Brilliants’ and are carefully tracked by the government,” the film’s logline reads, per Deadline.
Joining Smith, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has signed on to direct the film. Prior to this project, she worked on Academy Award-winning short films, Saving Face and A Girl in the River, The Price of Forgiveness. She also led Marvel’s feature film, Ms. Marvel.
Akiva Goldsman is also set to join the crew working on this film. He has written films such as Batman Forever, The Da Vinci Code and Cinderella Man. As it pertains to this film, Goldsman has a strong relationship with Will Smith. The duo previously worked on I Am Legend and I, Robot.
Brilliance will mark the first major project for Smith since the 94th Academy Awards debacle. Since the incident, Apple has reportedly stalled the release of Emancipation, an expected Oscar favorite. However, Deadline reports that it could arrive on the tech giant’s streaming service as early as December. Also, Smith’s Bel-Air is reportedly set to begin production on season two this fall. As for Brilliance, it’s unclear when this project will move forward.
