Will Smith’s new sci-fi movie Resistor has the opportunity to end one of the actor’s most concerning career trends by finally giving him another hit in the genre. Early in his blockbuster career, the sci-fi genre seemed to be one of Will Smith’s strong suits. While the actor first rose to prominence with roles in Six Degrees of Separation, Bad Boys, and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, it was 1996 and 1997’s one-two punch of Independence Day and Men In Black that cemented his superstar status. Since then, sci-fi has been second only to Will Smith’s action movies.

Most of Smith’s most successful sci-fi movies blended the genre with action, from 2004’s I, Robot to 2007’s I Am Legend. In contrast, Smith’s forays into fantasy, like Winter’s Tale and Collateral Beauty, received a more mixed reception. This explains why the sequel I Am Legend 2 is one of Smith’s most exciting upcoming projects, although the original post-apocalyptic blockbuster is as much a horror movie and an action movie as it is a sci-fi story. Smith’s recent sci-fi movies haven’t fared as well as his early entries into the genre did with audiences and critics.

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What Is Will Smith’s New Sci-Fi Movie?

Resistor Is Based On Daniel Suarez’s 2014 Sci-Fi Novel Influx

Despite this inconvenient fact, Will Smith will return to the world of sci-fi with his upcoming movie Resistor. Resistor is based on Daniel Suarez’s 2014 novel Influx, which follows the story of a particle physicist whose gravity-reflecting device earns the ire of the Bureau of Technology Control. A group committed to suppressing technological innovation for fear that it will cause a social revolution, the Bureau of Technology Control attempts to imprison the novel’s hero in its thrilling dystopian story. Resistor’s script comes from screenwriters who worked on Bullet Train and Top Gun: Maverick, meaning the project boasts plenty of blockbuster potential.

Though all three Men In Black movies were box office successes, Resistor sounds like a return to more self-serious sci-fi for Smith. The movie’s premise calls to mind I, Robot, with its knotty mystery and shadowy corporate villains. Unfortunately, that is not the only Smith project that Resistor resembles. Director And Lee’s Gemini Man also saw Smith play a beleaguered antihero who was unfairly targeted by a shady company with a dark secret, but this 2019 flop wasn’t well received by critics or audiences. Instead, Gemini Man was the latest in a string of sci-fi failures for the actor.

Will Smith’s Last 3 Sci-Fi Movies Haven’t Worked

After Earth, Bright, and Gemini Man All Failed To Resonate

Whether viewers judge them by their critical reception, their commercial performance, or a combination of the two, there is no denying that Will Smith’s choice of sci-fi movies hasn’t seen him succeed since I Am Legend (or arguably even I, Robot). If I Am Legend’s Richard Matheson adaptation is considered a sci-fi movie, then its mixed reviews are more than ameliorated by its massive box office success. However, since then, Smith’s last three sci-fi movies have undeniably been failures. 2013’s After Earth was derided by critics, making many end-of-year lists despite competition from The Lone Ranger.

Although Netflix’s expensive action fantasy Bright was popular with viewers, it was similarly hated by critics and never spawned its promised sequels. Meanwhile, Gemini Man was both a box office bomb and comfortably director Ang Lee’s worst movie ever. Smith’s recent sci-fi movies have all fared poorly, with all three being badly reviewed, Bright only being a success on streaming, and Gemini Man failing on every front.

Will Smith Used To Be The King Of Sci-Fi Movies

Independence Day and Men In Black Made Smith A Star

Although Bad Boys was a big success in 1995, it was also a gritty R-rated action movie. In contrast, it is tough to overstate just how instrumental Independence Day and Men In Black were to Smith’s blockbuster success. Men In Black gave Smith his first massive franchise and, even now, the Bad Boys series can’t break its box-office record. Meanwhile, Independence Day was the first major test of Smith’s leading man potential. Director Roland Emmerich’s alien invasion disaster movie even hedged its bets by pairing the actor with the more experienced Jef Goldblum, but Smith’s charisma made him its breakout star.

Men In Black II did admittedly struggle with critics, but it remained a massive hit and proved that Smith could still produce crowd-pleasing sci-fi efforts while simultaneously starring in award-winning dramas like Ali. Similarly, I, Robot was a huge hit whose middling reviews couldn’t dim Smith’s star power. I Am Legend’s divergences from Matheson’s source novel earned some criticism, but the movie was well received, and its financial success speaks for itself. Although Wild Wild West was undeniably a major outlier, the fact that the ambitious sci-fi Western attempted to blend the two genres accounts for its failure among Smith’s successes.

Can Will Smith Reclaim His Sci-Fi Crown?

Resistor Could Be The Start Of Something Big For Smith

While I Am Legend 2’s sequel story is Smith’s most exciting upcoming project, Resistor proves that the actor isn’t averse to taking risks and revisiting a genre that hasn’t been kind to him recently. Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap cost him a lot of audience goodwill, but the box office success of Bad Boys: Ride or Die seemingly proves that this backlash has begun to die down. As such, Resistor might be just what the actor needs to re-establish himself as the king of the genre. This relies on a few factors aligning in the star’s favor.

If I Am Legend 2 can repeat the original movie’s box office success, this will likely increase interest in Resistor. It will be tough for Resistor to avoid feeling like an overly familiar dystopian sci-fi story, so Smith’s star power will be central to selling the movie. Now that Bad Boys: Ride or Die has proven Smith remains a multiplex draw, I Am Legend 2 can remind viewers of his historical prowess in the sci-fi genre. If this works, then Will Smith’s Resistor may go on to become the movie that regains him the title of cinematic sci-fi’s reigning king.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die

Director

Adil El Arbi , Bilall Fallah

Release Date

June 7, 2024

Studio(s)

Columbia Pictures , 2.0 Entertainment , Don Simpson Films , Jerry Bruckheimer Films , Westbrook Studios

Writers

Chris Bremner

Cast

Will Smith , Martin Lawrence , Vanessa Hudgens , Alexander Ludwig , Paola Núñez , Eric Dane , Ioan Gruffudd , Tasha Smith

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