Last time Will Smith and director David Ayer collaborated, things didn’t turn out so well. Despite emerging as one of the most anticipated movie events of the summer, few would argue that Suicide Squad underwhelmed, and will write its name in the history books as a missed opportunity as opposed to the genre-mashing hit its marketing campaign led us to believe.
But neither Smith nor Ayer are backing away from blockbuster territory; they’ve simply rerouted to Netflix for Bright, a buzzworthy fantasy cop thriller that touts a production budget of $90 million, making it the streaming service’s most expensive original project to date.
Hatched as a spec script by Max Landis, Bright has spent the past few months assembling an appropriately starry roster of talent, and Variety brings word of the latest casting additions: Dawn Olivieri and Spider-Man: Homecoming star Kennth Choi. They’ll join Smith, Joel Edgerton, Aussie actress Lucy Fry, Brad William Henke and Noomi Rapace for a fantastical romp that involves a human detective (Smith) and a hulking Orc (Edgerton) who spring into action as evil forces scrap to seize control of an all-powerful wand. Olivieri is on board as Smith’s better half, though Variety notes that Netflix is keeping Choi’s character under wraps for the time being.
Olivieri and Choi will be among the final additions to Bright‘s cast now that production is due to get underway some time this month. The former was last seen opposite Vin Diesel in fellow fantasy vehicle The Last Witch Hunter, and has lined up sci-fi romance Behind The Curtain Of Night. Choi, meanwhile, is attached to the part of Principal Morita in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Look for that one to debut on July 7, 2017.
Published: Nov 1, 2016 09:52 am