Will Smith appeared ready to commit to Brilliance as his next project.  Earlier in the month, Noomi Rapace entered talks to co-star and director Julius Onah was gearing up to start shooting this summer.  Smith has instead thrown a wrench in Legendary and Universal's plans by deciding to drop out.  According to Deadline, "the exit came down to timing."  The report does not specify, so I wonder which of Smith's countless projects takes priority if the actor does film something in the coming months.  Smith will next be seen as a grifter in the February 2015 release, Focus.

David Koepp's Brilliance script is based on the Marcus Sakey novel of the same name that takes place in a world where one percent of the public (called "brilliants") are born with heightened cognitive abilities.  Brilliance is the first in a planned trilogy.  Read the book description after the jump.

In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called “brilliants,” and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in—and betray his own kind. [Amazon]

brilliance will smith