Will Smith Didn’t Star in Django as He “didn’t want to make a slavery film about vengeance”
Will Smith is a pride of the black community. And, for a very long time, the actor wanted to represent his community in the best way possible. Many of his movies depict the struggle and ability of black people and how they rise above the hurdles.
During an Interview with GQ magazine, Smith talked about how he turned down a movie offer because he wasn’t happy with the movie’s story.
Makes of Django: Unchained wanted Will Smith to play the lead role before Jamie Foxx
Will Smith has always been very careful about the scripts he picks. The actor leaves no for error when he is working on a certain character. Reportedly, the actor was offered the Jamie Foxx starrer movie Django: Unchained, but the actor wasn’t happy with the storyline of the movie.
While talking about why he didn’t want to play the lead role in the movie Django: Unchained, Smith said that he didn’t want to make a slavery film about vengeance, Smith stated that,
“I’ve always avoided making films about slavery. In the early part of my career… I didn’t want to show Black people in that light. I wanted to be a superhero. So I wanted to depict Black excellence alongside my white counterparts.”
He further added,
“I wanted to play roles that you would give to Tom Cruise. And the first time I considered it was Django. But I didn’t want to make a slavery film about vengeance.”
Smith also suggested the director of the movie Quentin Tarantino make some changes to the script but he refused to do so. When Tarantino said no to Smith’s request, the Men In Black actor was left with no choice but to turn down the offer.
Will Smith explained what changes he would have made to Django: Unchained’s story
Smith talked about the changes he had in mind for the movie Django: Unchained. In Smith’s mind, the movie would have not been about vengeance but love. The Emancipation actor has never shied away from doing action movies but for the movie he wanted the storyline to be more about love than hate.
Smith explained his preferences for the film, saying that he would have preferred “a love story, not a vengeance story.” However, Smith claimed that he recognized the filmmaker’s intent for the picture and the logic behind his preferred approach. He praised Tarantino’s vision for the movie and admitted that the plot’s central idea—that Django must become a bounty hunter to save his wife from slavery—was “perfect.”
Still, Smith thought that the ending of the movie could have been a bit different and that is where the director and Smith couldn’t agree. Although Foxx did a great job in the movie, many people wanted to see Smith as Django.
Source: GQ; Screen Rant
