A couple of months ago we conducted a poll to determine the best Will Smith movie to date, and in doing so, it became somewhat obvious that although the man is still considered the biggest box office draw in Hollywood, he hasn’t necessarily put that power to good use. Sure, he has earned a couple of Oscar nominations for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness, but he doesn’t seem to be striving for artistic credibility and fulfillment in the same way that most A-list actors are. Whether that’s good or bad is a matter of opinion, but this week we have learned that Smith may finally be trying to expand his repertoire. His production company Overbrook Entertainment has been developing a retelling of the Biblical Cain and Abel story over the past few years, and now word on the street is that Smith will not only star in the film, but he will also make it his directorial debut.

According to Deadline, the project is not likely to be Smith’s next film, but it is set up at Sony and is being developed as a directing vehicle for him. Although the project was initially called The Legend of Cain, it is now supposedly going under the working title of The Redemption of Cain. What remains unclear is whether or not this movie still contains the “vampiric twist” that it once had… and if so, what that even means.

There have been a handful of Biblical epics in development around Hollywood as of late, including Darren Aronofsky’s Noah and a Moses movie that Steven Spielberg has been rumoured to be involved in. Could this movie have been retooled to piggyback on that trend? Who knows. Smith’s only directing credit to date is for an episode of the UPN / CW sitcom All of Us. Are you interested in a Cain and Abel movie and do you think Will Smith could have a promising career ahead of him as a director?

Around the Web: