Will Smith has dropped out of the cast of Sugar Bandits.
The 55-year-old actor has left the project as an actor due to scheduling conflicts, but the Independence Day star and his Westbrook production company will remain involved in the big-budget action flick.
Westbrook is thought to be looking to re-cast Will’s role and still plans to make Sugar Bandits next year.
However, there are now questions about the movie’s outlook, as it was sold to leading distributors and Amazon Prime on the understanding that the Oscar-winning actor would star in it.
Smith had been due to play a former special forces soldier who is in command of an elite vigilante squad working to wipe out the drug trade in Boston. Sicario: Day of the Soldado filmmaker Stefano Sollima is on board as director.
The movie was in pre-production ahead of a planned shoot in Montreal, but progress stalled after doubts grew about Smith’s participation.
Smith previously explained how improvements to TV shows have made it harder to get hits at the box office, as audiences need to be enticed to pay a visit to the cinema.
The Bad Boys: Ride or Die actor told Hot Ones: “The definition of a hit is still pretty much the same. Essentially, it’s just harder to get one.
“You used to be able to put some explosions in the trailer and a couple of good jokes and people were there. And television is so good, there are things that people just aren’t going to leave their house for. There’s definitely a higher demand for a certain type of film for people to leave their homes.”
