Paramount has been in “big, impressive deals!” mode ever since it begged, bribed, and scraped its way into an acquisition by Skydance a few months back, tossing big chunks of money at things like luring away Netflix’s dice-rolling golden geese, popping up flashy video game adaptations to try to lure in the youths, and signing deals with Donald Trump’s favorite “guys hit each other in the head” sporting event. All of which, presumably, is meant to convey a new spirit of vitality and “we have cash and aren’t picky about where it lands,” leading to news today that the studio has found a new up-and-comer to take a chance on: A scrappy young actor and producer by the name of Will Smith.
Variety reports that Paramount has just signed a new first-look deal with Smith’s Westbrook, which will apparently be focusing on “global, four-quadrant theatrical movies,” with a strong focus on launching new franchises and working with established IP. (Dang, the rest of Hollywood is presumably asking itself: Why didn’t we think of that?) Paramount also isn’t keeping Smith’s wife’s name out of its contracts: Jada Pinkett Smith is co-owner of Westbrook, and will serve as producer on projects while Smith himself stars in them.
Smith’s brand is, of course, Very Weird in 2025: He’s released exactly two Hollywood films since climbing up on stage and slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, Emancipation (already filmed pre-Slap) and then the moderately successful Bad Boys: Ride Or Die. Even before that, though, Smith was operating in choppy cinematic waters: Yes, he picked up an Oscar for King Richard shortly after slapping Rock (and shortly before picking up a decade-long ban from the Oscars ceremony), but his only major commercial success in years was Disney’s Aladdin remake, which came with a host of nostalgic caveats. (Notably, Gemini Man, an expensive action thriller entirely predicated on the idea people might like a second Will Smith to go with the original flavor, was basically an outright bomb.) The era of Will Smith, Guaranteed Box Office Draw is now fully twenty years out of date, so it’s not entirely clear why Paramount thinks it’ll get its money’s worth out of this new deal. (Admittedly, Smith has had a bit more successful as a producer, lending his name to Peacock’s Bel-Air—until his name got to be too toxic to be an asset—and, most notably, Karate Kid sequel show Cobra Kai.)
Westbrook reportedly already has two projects in development at Paramount: Sugar Bandits, based on a novel by The Town author Chuck Hogan, and a project titled Rabbit Hole
