Will Smith is hoping Zendaya will help him revive his career by joining the sequel to a late 2000s fluke

Amid his Hollywood comeback following the infamous Chris Rock 2022 Oscars slap (otherwise known as slapgate), Will Smith has teased one of his worst movies will get a sequel. Not only that, but the film’s casting directors will target Zendaya.

It makes sense given the Challengers and Spider-Man star is one of the industry’s most sought-after talents in 2025. What makes less sense is the fact any studio wants to make Hancock 2, even if the first one did miraculously make bank.

Internet-savvy Smith teased the idea on xQc’s livestream, saying “There’s a really cool Hancock 2 idea,” adding, “We haven’t even talked about it.” Before throwing out another big name (Michael B. Jordan), he said, “I’m going to give you one little piece. Zendaya [is] being approached for a role in Hancock 2.”

Will Smith teases "Hancock 2" with Michael B. Jordan and Zendaya 👀 pic.twitter.com/kqYfmnkRyT

— slushy (@xqcreviews) February 19, 2025

Pete Berg’s 2008 superhero movie – about a superpowered man who was as likely to be sleeping rough and destroying LA’s public property as he was to be saving its residents – had its brains bashed in by critics, who would argue that it had no brains to begin with. Despite the panning and pitiful Rotten Tomatoes score, it made over four times its production cost at the box office — $629.4 million against a $150 million budget.

Baffled moviegoers have debated where this money came from, and have currently pointed out that Smith’s star power around the time of release was undeniable. It also had the ‘alternative superhero movie’ thing going for it. Films like 2000’s Unbreakable, 2017’s Logan, etc., have tapped into this too, promising a grittier experience and far less spandex. Hancock had handheld camerawork, a messy anti-hero at the center, and a certain grounded quality that may have inspired ticket buyers.

Will Smith in “Hancock” deserves more recognition for starting the “superhero who is actually kind of a shitty guy” movie/tv show (it as a thing in comics for a long time) trope that is so ubiquitous now

— She-Rage, Princess of Pain (@ClaireMax) March 13, 2022

The film’s alcoholic main character ended his journey revealing a more sensitive side after meeting a woman named Mary (Charlize Theron). A sequel was planned pretty much right away, thanks to the positive profit. In 2009, the director told MTV News both stars would return for another installment. Then in 2012, Berg admitted progress had stalled. He told Comic Book Movie, “We did have a series of meetings last year and started to hash out an idea for the sequel — and Will Smith actually had the idea — so I think it will happen, it’s just a question of timing.”

Theron also lent her voice to the sequel efforts in 2020, joking she’d be game even if she had to appear in a walker, thanks to the time that had passed since the original’s release. “And I’ll still go! I’ll still make that movie, I would do it in a heartbeat,” she told ComicBook.

So basically Hancock and Mary had a kid and the kid is Zendaya https://t.co/Ki8wzuE8g0

— Char. (@DONTBLAMECHAR) February 19, 2025

Fans have already started guessing what may be obvious: the role may be for the part of Hancock and Mary’s daughter. Zendaya is a very busy woman; she’s expected to appear in all future Spider-Man projects, Christopher Nolan’s next film, and Euphoria season 3, to name just a few things on her schedule. Whether she’d want to be involved is anyone’s guess, however, when her team looks at the numbers from 2008, they might try to do some convincing.