Will Smith is known for two things; making blockbuster films and slapping Chris Rock. In an effort to make us forget about the latter, he’s undoubtedly looking to his next movie project as I write this.
In fact, we already know he’s even dipping his toe into the successful waters of year’s past. News broke that he and Martin Lawrence will team up yet again for another Bad Boys movie, and we also know a sequel to I Am Legend is on it’s way.
That had me thinking; what other Will Smith movie sequels need to happen? It’s arguable, for sure, especially since he’s now in his 50’s, that the answer is zero. However, beyond the two Will Smith sequels we’re for sure getting, I have a couple more I wouldn’t mind seeing.
With that, here are three Will Smith movie sequels we hope get made.
1. Independence Day 3
I’ll start off my deserving Will Smith movie sequels with a movie that technically already got one. Well, it literally did, it just didn’t have Will Smith in it.
The original Independence Day is a cult classic. It’s also just a flat out classic, with the critics giving it a respectable 67% score at Rotten Tomatoes, and the audience loving it (75%) even more.
It dropped back in 1996, delivering us a comedic and frightening mash-up with Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum successfully making us laugh and hide under the covers simultaneously.
Hollywood capitalized on it’s success and popularity 20 years later, with the only major change being the addition of Liam Hemsworth and worse writing. It led to a horrid 29% critics score, and the audience (30%) didn’t like it any better.
Needless to say, the franchise could use a jolt. Returning Smith to one of the early roles that launched him to superstardom wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially if the story was good. Recreating that chemistry between Smith and Goldblum would be a big piece to the puzzle in my opinion.
There have been talks regarding an Independence Day 3 movie. The question will be if it actually moves forward, and if Smith will return to reprise his iconic role.
2. Hancock 2
He played a human the first time around, of course, and in Hancock he plays a disgruntled superhero. We learn over time that he’s mostly depressed due to losing the woman he loved (or forgot about), and eventually his character comes full circle and finds happiness again.
Does Will Smith crush the sci-fi realm? He sure does. Independence Day was his first foray into that side of Hollywood, but it certainly wasn’t his last.
That does present a bit of a problem as far as creating Hancock 2, but that’s never stopped Hollywood before.
Smith is considerably older than he was when he displayed this scruffy superhero – and the first movie didn’t blow anyone away with a 41% critics score – but there’s an argument it could be done with better execution the second time around.
After all, we could get more gems like this.
An aging superhero tale could be worth checking out, while the Hancock sequel could also dig deeper into his relationship with his love interest (Charlize Theron) from the first film.
It won’t get Smith back on the Oscars stage, but this one would be about pure fun, action, and hopefully some laughs.
3. I, Robot 2
Are there more Will Smith movies that need sequels? Probably. However, two are already happening, and others like Men in Black literally already got some.
I could argue for Focus and a few others, but I really wanted to point out the potential Will Smith sequels I personally wanted, or thought were worth exploring.
That has me ending with I, Robot, which truly may be one of Will Smith’s best films.
The critics didn’t fall in love with the sci-fi blockbuster (56%), but the audience loved it (70%) and it was the rare action flick that had serious cerebral power embedded in it.
Is there a more relevant story to be told in today’s day and age, where everyone is infatuated with AI? I think not.
You could argue I, Robot already explored this premise and took it as far as it can go, but I think there’s another story to be found here.
As noted, there are some Will Smith movie sequels already on their way. Clearly, he and Hollywood have no shame in exploring old content with a fresh spin. Here’s to hoping that happens with the three films mentioned above.
Want to see a sequel to another Will Smith movie not discussed? Let’s hear about it in the comments below!
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