The new action hit with Will Smith sounds incredibly good because the star dares to try something new

With a target budget of $80 million, ‘Sugar Bandits’ is the most expensive and largest project for which the current Berlin film market is looking for buyers who want to bring the film to theaters or to a streaming service. Finally, there is also a real superstar on board: Will Smith. It is an adaptation of the novel by a celebrated author: “Sugar Bandits” is based on “Devils In Exile” aka “Bounty” by Chuck Hogan.

Hogan is not only known for the horror series ‘The Strain’, developed together with Guillermo del Toro, but especially for the critically acclaimed novel ‘Prince of Thieves’, from which Ben Affleck adapted a tough thriller ‘The Town’. It goes in the same direction as this action film about bank robbers “Sugar Bandits” – not just because it focuses on the genre, the robbers who operate with military precision, and the Boston setting Splits…

This is “Sugar Bandits” – with Will Smith as the villain

The main character is a veteran returning from the war in Iraq. But in his hometown of Boston, Neal Maven discovers that he and his skills are of no use anymore – until he meets the charismatic Brad Royce, also an ex-soldier. He’s rich and seems to have the whole world under control – and has the most beautiful woman from Maven’s high school days as a girlfriend. Above all, Royce offers the comrade a job. Because he and other veterans are cleaning up Boston’s drug scene.

The self-proclaimed ‘Sugar Bandits’ use their military skills to rob gangsters and their drug trade. The drugs are destroyed and the money is seized. Neal finally feels useful again and like a modern Robin Hood. But then he discovers that there’s a lot more to Royce’s operation than he thought…

Not much is known about the project yet. Hogan adapted the script himself, which was reportedly very positively received in Hollywood. Smith is on board not only as an actor, but also as a producer with other partners. However, not all communications about the project describe what role the superstar plays. The industry magazine but want to know, that Smith, in their opinion, is not the lead actor, but rather the co-star of the film. That makes sense – and above all, the project is particularly interesting at the moment.

Because our first thought was that Smith does not fit the role of Neal Maven in this scenario, but rather that of Brad Royce. And that would be a special feature in the actor’s career. Because Royce is clearly the villain of the story – and Smith, who has long been very concerned about his clean-cut image, has never played a role like this in his career.

This has never happened before with Will Smith

After all, Will Smith even turned down the lead role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” because the character was too morally questionable for him. When he did play a character with a dark side, such as in the comic book adaptation ‘Suicide Squad’, he ultimately turned out to be a very good antihero with a clear moral compass. And even a controversial historical figure like the father in ‘King Richard’, who harshly raises his daughters to become tennis professionals, certainly cannot be described as a villain.

Perhaps the scandal after the Oscar blow in 2022, which also cost Smith some projects, has led to a reconsideration. After all, since then he has only been able to film “Bad Boys 4” (theatrical release: June 13, 2024), which was planned in advance and went ahead despite all the excitement; everything else fell through. To get back to the top, the longtime superstar may now be willing to take a little more risk in his choice of roles.

“Sugar bandits“ is now Smith’s first completely new project since the 2022 scandal – and it is expected to be particularly eagerly awaited. However, we don’t know yet when the action thriller will be released, mainly because no one seems to be on board to direct it yet.