Will Smith has officially signed on to lead Supermax, a new high-concept action thriller from Amazon MGM Studios, and director David Gordon Green. The project marks one of Smith’s biggest non-franchise studio films in years, following his return to theaters with Bad Boys: Ride or Die in 2024. Amazon MGM recently secured worldwide rights to the film in a deal reportedly valued around $70 million, making it one of the largest streaming acquisitions tied to a star-driven original project this year.
Supermax stars Will Smith in a murder mystery
The movie is said to have sold for about $70 million to Amazon MGM, which has picked up worldwide rights. The movie will see Smith play the role of Rex – one of two FBI agents investigating a murder in the world’s highest security prison.
Directed by David Gordon Green, Supermax is a high-concept thriller where Smith’s Rex will team up with a female agent, whose identity is yet to be revealed but whose casting has now commenced, to investigate a murder in the world’s highest security prison. The movie has an exciting plot, which promises to be full of twists and turns, and is set to be shot from mid-August this year.
David Weil and David J. Rosen have come up with a screenplay for the movie based on a spec script. Weill and Rosen are known for having written the popular Prime Video series called Hunters.
Originally picked up by Miramax during a bid war for the spec script in 2025, the movie was quickly taken to development stages. Amazon MGM later came in and bought worldwide distribution rights for the film.
The $70 million agreement to acquire the Supermax film shows how confident Amazon MGM is in the power of a Will Smith led film on its streaming service. Moreover, the film is likely to be among those with the highest production budgets that David Gordon Green has ever directed.
While Smith was long considered a box office king, with the rise of streaming, most of his movies are now for the platform rather than in theaters. Currently, there is no announcement for any theatrical release plans for the upcoming thriller, according to reports.
The Picture Company’s Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman are producing the film along with Smith through his Westbrook banner. Adam Fishbach is also producing the film. After the commercial success of Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Smith has a lot of other projects in the pipeline. However, unlike Bad Boys, Supermax appears to be an original story for Smith rather than part of an established franchise.
With Amazon MGM already having picked up films with Tom Cruise and Ryan Reynolds starring, acquiring a Supermax film is another win for the studio, which is battling the likes of Disney+ to attract big-budget movies featuring Hollywood stars.
No release date has been announced yet for Supermax.
