As recently reported, there's been a change at the top of Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's Collateral Beauty, with Hugh Jackman forced to drop out due to a schedule clash with Wolverine 3. There was some talk of Johnny Depp being sought to step in, but apparently that went nowhere, because the official word this morning is that Will Smith has picked up the baton. He'll co-star with Rooney Mara.
Allan Loeb wrote the screenplay, which revolves around a New York advertising agency, and a man - presumably now Smith - struggling with depression after a tragedy that turns his world upside down.
Loeb has recently been churning out comedies like Here Comes The Boom, Just Go With It and The Dilemma, but his earlier work on dramas like Things We Lost In The Fire and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is probably a more relevant touchstone here...
Gomez-Rejon, meanwhile, got his start on television with Glee and American Horror Story. He also directed this year's clever remake of '70s slasher The Town That Dreaded Sundown, but told Empire recently that he's keen not to be pegged as "a horror guy". Me And Earl And The Dying Girl and Collateral Beauty look set to get him off that path at some velocity.
Shooting is expected to start in October.