Will Smith To Star As Iraq War Veteran In Upcoming Thriller ‘Sugar Bandits’

Will Smith is officially adding another intense role to his résumé. The veteran actor is set to play the lead in Sugar Bandits, an upcoming action thriller centered around an Iraq War veteran.

Per Variety, the film is written by Chuck Hogan and based on his book Devils in Exile. Hogan also boasts credits in The Town and The Strain. In Sugar Bandits, the main character teams up with other vets to target the drug trade in Boston. The movie was reportedly first announced back in 2013.

Sugar Bandits will be produced by Smith and Jon Mone through Westbrook Studios with Ryan Shimazaki overseeing. Stuart Ford will produce for AGC Studios, and Richard Abate will produce for 3 Arts Entertainment.   

Smith’s last major film was Antoine Fuqua’s Emancipation in 2022, which sold to Apple TV+ in Cannes for a market record deal of $120 million. Prior to that was 2021’s Oscar-winning King Richard film, a movie based on the father and coach of famed tennis players Venus and Serena Williams.

The Fresh Prince is also working on a sequel to I Am Legend, the 2007 blockbuster starring him as a lone scientist in a deadly plague. The follow-up film is set to feature Micheal B. Jordan as the lead and see Smith reprising his role.

A lot has happened in the life of Will Smith over the past year, and he provided an update in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter about where he is at mentally as of lately. “I have to be clear about who I am and what I am attempting to do in the world,” he said. “And I can’t need others to applaud for me to stay focused on my mission… I want you to feel good. And at the same time, I am deeply human. And I am in the process of perfecting my virtue.”

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