
In January, TheWrap had reported that the actor was in early talks to star in the adaptation, with Tim Burton on board to direct.
The studio is currently working on more than a dozen live-action adaptation films based on in-house IP. “The Lion King,” “Peter Pan,” “Maleficent 2,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Mulan,” “Snow White” and a take on “101 Dalmatians” called “Cruella” are all in the works with bold names like Angelina Jolie, Emma Stone, “Hamilton” creator-star Lin Manuel-Miranda, composer Alan Menken and directors Sam Mendes, Tim Burton, Jon Favreau and Guy Ritchie.
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Smith last starred in “Suicide Squad” as Deadshot and in “Collateral Beauty.” His next projects include “Bright” also starring Joel Edgerton, Edgar Ramirez and Noomi Rapace — the film is set to be directed by David Ayer.
Smith and Martin Lawrence will return to play Mike and Marcus in “Bad Boys For Life,” the third installment in the buddy cop series which is now schedule to be released on Nov. 9, 2018. A fourth “Bad Boys” film has been removed from the slate, having been scheduled for Memorial Day weekend in 2019.
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A representative for Smith has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment. He is repped by CAA and 42 West.
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