After a quiet period during the last few years where, except for showing up to make Men In Black 3, he’s been content to work as a producer, guide his kids’ careers and develop new possible movies, Will Smith appears to be gearing back up. He’s already circling Warner Bros.' con drama **Focus and may be reviving Hurricane Katrina tale American Can.
The latter is a true-life tale of heroism chronicles what happened when Gulf War veteran John Keller saved many lives during the natural disaster. Keller, a tough, tall former Marine, helped keep the 150-odd residents of his apartment complex – American Can, which is where the project gets its title – safe when they were cut off by 11-foot-high floods of fetid water. Many of those living in the building were elderly and infirm, and hadn’t been able to evacuate. Keller got them moved to the roof and coordinated the distribution of airdropped supplies while also guarding the place from looters.
Can has been in development at Smith’s Overbook company since at least 2009. In 2011, Denzel Washington was pondering the lead, and John Lee Hancock wrote a script and was planning to direct. But it didn’t come together and now, according to Deadline, Smith is looking to star with Ed Zwick taking over the megaphone.
While it appears **Can **may follow **Focus **in Smith’s future, another possibility is also floating around, though there are conflicting reports as to whether he’ll take it on. The Accountant, written by Bill Dubuque, sees a government bean counter living a double life as an officially sanctioned assassin. Mel Gibson wanted to direct it ages ago for Warners, but it drifted off into limbo. Still, it could return, so watch this space.
As for confirmed Smith plans, he’s co-starring with son Jaden in M Night Shyamalan’s After Earth, which is due out here on June 7, and has filmed a small role in Akiva Goldsman’s Winter’s Tale.