Having stepped away from a potential return as Deadshot in the Suicide Squad sequel, Will Smith has been on the hunt for other potential films he can add to his already busy To Do list. He's leapt on to King Richard, a spec script that set Hollywood chattering this past weekend, and is attached to play Richard Williams, father to tennis legends Venus and Serena.
Zach Baylin wrote the script, which will chronicle how Williams, despite zero tennis background and extreme hardship, began the journey to train two of the sport's top players. When his daughters were around the age of four, Richard Williams drew up a 78-page plan for their professional tennis careers. He began giving them tennis lessons and the girls learned the game on cracked, weedy public courts in Compton, Los Angeles, reportedly after their father brawled with young toughs who were not fans of the sport and would not make way. The Williams sisters went on to become two of the greatest players in tennis history, with Serena arguably the best ever, with 23 Grand Slam tournament wins. Venus Williams has won seven Grand Slam titles.
This is one that has plenty of studio interest, and with Smith attached, expect the bidding war to be fierce. This year, Smith will show up as the genie in Aladdin (24 May), voices one of the main characters in Spies In Disguise (9 August) and plays doubles (not tennis) in Gemini Man (11 October). 2020 will see him reprise the role of Detective Mike Lowery in Bad Boys For Life.
Keep up to date with all the latest movie news, click here to subscribe to Empire on Great Magazines and have the latest issue delivered to your door every month.