Films starring Will Smith reportedly on hold after Oscars slap

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 27: Will Smith accepts the Actor in a Leading Role award for ‘King Richard’ onstage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 27, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

by: Addy Bink, Nexstar Media Wire

Posted: Apr 3, 2022 / 02:02 PM PDT

Updated: Apr 3, 2022 / 02:02 PM PDT

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Netflix and Sony have reportedly put movies Will Smith was set to appear in on hold after the actor slapped comedian Chris Rock during the Oscars.

The Netflix film “Fast and Loose” was already looking for a new director after David Leitch – who directed “Deadpool 2” and executive produced two John Wick movies – withdrew from the project a week before the Academy Awards, according to The Hollywood Reporter. After Smith slapped Rock, the movie and its search for a new director were put on pause.

“Fast and Loose” was set to follow a criminal who lost his memory after an attack, Variety reports. The character is then forced to learn about his two identities, one as a wealthy crime lord and the other as an undercover CIA agent.

Additionally, a source tells The Hollywood Reporter that while Smith received 40 pages of the script before the Oscars, Sony is also pausing production of “Bad Boys 4.” As he’d done in other films in the “Bad Boys” franchise, Smith was set to star as Mike Lowrey, IMDb shows.

Smith is also starring in Apple TV+’s “Emancipation,” a drama following a runaway slave who joins the Union Army, according to Variety. While it has a 2022 release date, The Hollywood Reporter says “Emancipation” remains in post-production.

Apple, Netflix, and Sony have not yet commented on the statuses of these projects.

At the Oscars just a week ago, Smith walked onto the stage after Rock joked about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and slapped him. A short time later, Smith won the best actor award for his role in “King Richard.”

Smith, who issued a public apology a day after the Oscars, resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday. In a statement sent to NewsNation through the actor’s publicist, Smith said he will “fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable.”

Rock declined to file charges and, during his first public appearance at a comedy show in Boston, said he was “still processing” what had happened.