Will Smith, the Fresh Prince turned Hollywood mogul, is showing no signs of slowing down. The 57-year-old actor and rapper (born September 25, 1968) is set to headline Supermax, a new action-thriller from Halloween director David Gordon Green.
Amazon MGM Studios has acquired worldwide rights in a deal reportedly worth in the $70 million range, earmarking the film for a streaming release on Prime Video.
In Supermax, Smith will play Rex, an FBI agent investigating a murder inside the world’s most secure prison. The project follows hot on the heels of 2024’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which grossed over $404 million globally and reaffirmed his enduring box-office draw.
That film, alongside a new first-look production pact with Paramount, signals that Hollywood remains keen to keep him at the centre of its biggest franchises.
Beyond the silver screen, Smith has also been reconnecting with his heritage in an unexpected way. During an interview on BBC Radio Wales, host Lucy Owen revealed that his Philadelphia neighbourhood of Wynnefield is named after Welsh physician Thomas Wynne.
She also pointed out that his mother’s hometown of Bryn Mawr derives from the Welsh words for “big hill”. “So I’m Welsh!” he exclaimed, before joking: “That might be my new name, Welsh Smith.”
From his breakout as a Grammy-winning rapper in the late 1980s, to his iconic role in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, to a string of blockbusters including Independence Day, Men in Black and King Richard (for which he won his first Academy Award in 2022), Smith’s career has been defined by relentless reinvention. With a lifetime gross exceeding $9 billion at the global box office, he remains one of the most bankable stars on the planet.
As he prepares to step back into the action arena with Supermax, one thing is clear. Will Smith’s story is far from over and he is writing the next chapter on his own terms
