Netflix Has Reportedly Quietly Backed Away From A Will Smith Action Movie After His Oscars Slap

After Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on live television on Sunday, the immediate aftermath wasn’t to bad. He won an Oscar and he partied by dancing to one of his own songs. Then a fallout began. There have been condemnations, from colleagues and the public alike. He’s issued apologies and even resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Now it looks as though he may start losing some work.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, in the last week Netflix has quietly backed off of Fast and Loose, an action-thriller that was to star Smith. As it happens, the project had already lost its original director, John Wick and Deadpool 2’s David Leitch, right before the Oscars — which is to say before that slap. The streamer had been on a sudden, frantic search for a replacement, but now, THR claims, they’ve stopped all that, putting the movie on the back burner.

The film, as described by THR, would have starred Smith (and could still) as a “crime boss who loses his memory after an attack. Piecing together clues, he discovers that he has led a double identity as a wealthy kingpin and a broke CIA agent.” As of now, though, it’s unclear whether Netflix will revive the project with another director and possibly another star.

It’s not the only Smith film that may run into trouble. The actor had reportedly received 40 pages of the Bad Boys 4 script before the ceremony, but a source claims Sony has now put that production on pause. His Apple+ slave drama Emancipation, meanwhile, is already in post-production.

Meanwhile, Chris Rock has seen his stand-up ticket sales skyrocket.