Will Smith will star in The Family Man, a Netflix movie about a businessman who has to unexpectedly care for his own children.
Will Smith will play the lead in a new Netflix movie titled The Family Man, which would be his first live-action comedy since 2019’s Disney remake of Aladdin. According to our trusted and proven sources, the Shark Tale actor’s new movie will be a new take on the classic tale of a husband and father who finds himself having to care for his own children. The film will be directed by Andy Tennant, who previously worked with Will Smith in the 2005 romantic comedy Hitch.
The Family Man will star Will Smith as a busy, successful businessman who finds himself being the main caregiver for his own children after his wife goes out of town on her own business. As of now, there is no indication of whether the roles of his wife or children have been cast, but it seems fair to assume that the movie will primarily be a Will Smith vehicle above all else. While the Bad Boys actor was once known for his comedic roles, thanks in large part to his iconic sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, it has been some years since Smith made that his main selling point.
It is interesting that Will Smith will be re-entering the world of comedy with The Family Man, which has a premise straight out of the 1980s. While the idea of a man being unable to handle caring for his own children was somewhat novel in say, the Michael Keaton movie Mr. Mom in 1983, it seems somewhat retrograde in 2023. Short of going very high-concept and portraying Smith’s children as some kind of demonic troublemakers (like, say the John Ritter movie Problem Child in 1990), The Family Man does not have the kind of hook it once did.
On the other hand, Will Smith might be trying to shoot for a tried-and-true formula with The Family Man in his ongoing efforts to reclaim his status as one of the world’s most beloved stars. After the notorious incident in which he slapped comedian Chris Rock for making a joke at the expense of his spouse Jada Pinkett Smith at the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony, Smith seemed at real risk of disappearing from pop culture. A number of his future projects were canceled and even Tom Cruise was allegedly going out of his way to avoid him, which has to sting.
However, in recent months, Will Smith has been cautiously making his way back into public good graces. It appears that he is planning to play it safe at the moment, making sequels to proven successes like Bad Boys 4 and I Am Legend 2, and now, teaming up with the biggest streaming platform in the world and a previous directorial partner for what seems like a four-quadrant people-pleasing comedy. At the very least, you have to give him credit for being strategic.
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