Boldly putting a brief teaser for Bright on during a commercial break for the Oscars in the States this year, Netflix has firmly set its stall as a competitor for the blockbuster business of the studios. Now new images from the blend of fantasy and cop thriller, which stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton are online. While the pictures were originally handed to EW, Netflix has now put up its own versions.
David Ayer is the director of Bright, with Max Landis hatching the original concept and writing the script. "I love how bizarre it is," Smith tells EW. "I’ve been saying it’s Training Day — a gritty LA cop drama, the darkness and handheld grittiness — meets Lord Of The Rings. There’s orcs and fairies and elves, mean-ass elves." Yes, in this world, fantasy creatures co-exist with people, though not exactly easily. The story sees Smith's human officer Ward teamed with Edgerton's orc Jakoby. Ward isn't particularly thrilled with the arrangement, but is trying to make the best of it. "I’m getting ridiculed by other members of the police force," Smith explains. "In their interpretation, I’m giving him a fair shot, and I should really just be trying to get him off of the force." The racial and societal subtext is clear.
The partners are forced to work together more closely when a seemingly random call brings them into contact with something much more dangerous. "The use of magic in this world is illegal, like a high-tech weapon should be," Smith says. "The officers receive a call to what appears to be a simple disturbance in a house near downtown Los Angeles and leads them to a discovery of a magical relic, an artifact of the Dark Lord’s war against humanity." For more on the movie, head to EW's site.
Bright will hit Netflix in December.
Fantasy Is Reality For Will Smith In The First Teaser For Bright