Will Smith will no longer be starring in Sugar Bandits.
In February 2024, it was announced that Smith would star in a new thriller movie called Sugar Bandits, which is being directed by Without Remorse and Sicario: Day of the Soldado’s Stefano Sollima.
Per Deadline, Smith has now dropped out of the movie due to scheduling conflicts; although, it’s not immediately clear at this time what the Men in Black actor will be filming instead of Sugar Bandits.
Smith has a couple of future projects that have been publicly announced at this time. A sequel to 2007’s I Am Legend is currently in the works and will see Smith reprise his role alongside Michael B. Jordan. He’s also attached to star in a sci-fi thriller movie titled Resistor for Sony Pictures. Additionally, he’s producing the next Karate Kid movie, which will be released in 2025.
While nothing is official at this time, there’s also been talk about continuing the Bad Boys franchise following the massive box-office success of Bad Boys: Ride or Die. Both Smith and Martin Lawrence have said they’d return for a potential Bad Boys 5 so long as there are younger actors involved who can do the more intense stunt work.
What is happening with Sugar Bandits now that Will Smith has dropped out?
While production company Westbrook hopes to recast Smith’s role and film the movie in 2025, Deadline notes that there’s “now a question mark” surrounding the project’s future.
“The circa $80M project was sold all around the world at the EFM and in Cannes to leading independent distributors and Amazon Prime on the understanding that Smith would be starring in it,” the article notes.
A description of Sugar Bandits reads, “[The movie] follows a former Special Forces soldier who joins an elite, vigilante squad aiming to wipe out the drug trade in Boston, but soon learns things are not what they seem.”
Sugar Bandits is based on a 2010 novel called The Devils in Exile by Chuck Hogan, who also wrote the screenplay for the movie. Additional casting was expected to commence once an official production start date had been locked down.
