Bright 2: Is the Bright sequel starring Will Smith still happening at Netflix?

Released back in 2017, Bright is an urban fantasy film on Netflix starring Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace, Lucy Fry, Édgar Ramírez and Ike Barinholtz. David Ayer directed the movie. Despite poor critical reception, Bright still became one of Netflix’s most-watched films and the service opted for a sequel. But is Bright 2 still happening?

According to What’s On Netflix, it looks like the future of a Bright sequel…is not looking bright. Sorry. After the Oscar’s slap heard ’round the world, Will Smith has become persona non grata in Hollywood with several of his projects suddenly being postponed indefinitely. He was also banned from the Oscars for 10 years.

While I doubt Smith’s exile will last forever, it’s not too surprising that the Netflix higher-ups wants to distance themselves for the time being, especially since the streaming service has plenty of controversy on its own without wading into Smith stuff.

Bright 2 updates

Bright 2 has been in deveelopment for a while and Netflix even released an anime spin-off titled Bright: Samurai Soul, which you can stream right now. Netflix already halted Smith’s other movie Fast and Loose.

According to Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw, Netflix quietly canceled the Bright sequel. That said, they have yet to cancel the crime biopic The Council, which Smith is starring in, but that project might be too far along for them to back out now.

Shaw claims that the cancellation of the Bright sequel is actually unrelated to the recent Oscars incident. They might be saying that to avoid blowback from Smith’s fans and supporters, but it also wouldn’t be completely crazy for them to back out since the movie did so poorly with critics. Netflix might have decided it’s just not worth following through with it anymore.

The Bright sequel was supposed to start production in fall 2021, but there was never any confirmation that production started. That was long before the Academy Awards, so it does sound like the movie being canceled didn’t have anything to do with the slap.

Are you disappointed that Bright 2 is no longer happening at Netflix?