Will Smith's next blockbuster isn't headed to the movie theater - as we've seen with several high-profile projects in recent years, Netflix is the destination of choice, and that's where fans will be able to see his latest film Bright, directed by Smith's Suicide Squad helmer David Ayer.
Bright takes place in what Smith describes as a "bizarre world," which is "this crazy mashup of the grit and that hard rated-R grime of Training Day but then smashed with Lord of the Rings." Re-teaming with Ayer was a sign of the trust that the two have with one another. "Trust is a big part in the actor-director relationship because David asks you to do weird shit sometimes," Smith said.
"It's really a spectacular world," Smith said about the film, which sees his character Detective Ward paired by the first "Ork" on the LAPD force, as played by Joel Edgerton, who is wearing so much makeup that the actor referred to the prosthetics as a "couch" because there was so much foam. "I'm playing a guy who wants to be liked, but looks like a monster," Edgerton shared.
The world of Bright includes fairies and Orks and a class system with hierarchies that, while rooted in the world of fiction, could be identifiable to audiences. "The original screenplay [by Max Landis] is such a beautiful snapshot of our world without hammering on it too much," Smith said.
Ayer praised Netflix for giving the project a lot of support and allowing him to film in Los Angeles. "They really let me have my voice, and they gave us space to make something incredible," he said.
In addition to the trailer that was released today, Netflix premiered an exclusive clip for the audience in Hall H, involving machine guns, a car, fire, and explosions inside the mini-mart of a gas station. Lucy Fry's character, a "Bright" -- the term for a magic user who possesses an an ancient wand, was featured prominently in the clip alongside Noomi Rapace as an elvish villain.
Smith is excited to see how audiences respond to the film on Netflix and panel moderator Terry Crews promised that "you will never look at the Keebler Elf the same way ever again."
Bright lights up on Netflix December 22. Read the official synopsis below.
"Set in an alternate present-day where humans, orcs, elves and fairies have been coexisting since the beginning of time, this action-thriller directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad, End of Watch, writer of Training Day) follows two cops from very different backgrounds. Ward, a human (Will Smith), and Jakoby, an orc (Joel Edgerton), embark on a routine night patrol that will alter the future of their world as they know it. Battling both their own personal differences as well as an onslaught of enemies, they must work together to protect a young female elf and a thought-to-be-forgotten relic, which in the wrong hands could destroy everything."