Film + TV

Will Smith stars in 'orc cop' drama on Netflix

by Jesse Locke

Imagine a world where 1995’s Whoopi Goldberg and talking dinosaur buddy cop flop Theodore Rex became the subject of a massive entertainment industry bidding war. That’s the reality we live in with Bright, a fantasy crime thriller starring Will Smith as a human cop forced to work with an orc.

Australian actor Joel Edgerton (known for his roles in Warrior and Black Mass) plays the supernatural half of the duo, while Suicide Squad director David Ayer is also attached. Max Landis, writer of the films Chronicle and American Ultra, previously shared an excerpt of the script with ‘Fogteeth Leader’ and a character speaking in orkish at the police division handling magical crimes:

According to Digital Trends, the R-rated film saw Warner Bros. and MGM team up for a bid before it was scooped by Netflix. This follows the streaming service’s recent deals with Adam Sandler and the Idris Alba drama Beasts of No Nation, the latter of which was boycotted by large theatre chains for its simultaneous Netflix release.

So far it’s hard to know exactly what to expect from Bright, but it’s been described as a combination of director Ayers’ gritty 2012 cop movie End of Watch and 1988’s Alien Nation, a sci-fi thriller starring James Caan as a human cop and Mandy Patinkin as his alien partner. If you wished Turner & Hooch went harder or Bad Boys swapped out Martin Lawrence for Azog the Defiler, this one might be for you.