Cast one eye over the ever-crowded holiday release window and you’ll find no shortage of awards contenders lining Hollywood’s slate. Perhaps more so than year in recent memory, moviegoers will have their attention – and wallets! – pulled in every which way with The Revenant, Room, The Hateful Eight and David O. Russell’s dark horse, Joy. But sandwiched between the heavy-hitters is Sony Pictures’ upcoming NFL drama, Concussion, which has debuted a second full-length trailer only today.
Placing Will Smith in the role of real-life, Nigerian-born Dr. Bennet Omalu, the studio’s biographical sports drama is to be headed up by director Peter Landesman, as Omalu fights against the order in attempting to draw a conclusive connection between CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) and the strenuous nature of the sport.
Hampering Concussion‘s chances of making a lasting impact this holiday season, Sony was the target of criticism some months back when reports emerged suggesting that the studio revised the script of Landesman’s drama in order to snuff out any potential legal kickback from the NFL. Whether that truly is the case is yet to be confirmed, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Smith-led feature fares nonetheless. Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Albert Brooks, Luke Wilson, Paul Reiser and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje round out the cast.
Before donning the ice-white mask and sniper rifle as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot for David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, Will Smith will take the strenuous health issues surrounding the NFL when Concussion opens during cinema’s purple patch on December 25.
Will Smith stars in Concussion, a dramatic thriller based on the incredible true David vs. Goliath story of American immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player and fought for the truth to be known. Omalu’s emotional quest puts him at dangerous odds with one of the most powerful – and beloved – institutions in the world.
