Stacked ensemble alert: Will Smith's new action thriller at Amazon officially moves forward
Will Smith won’t be short of company on the inside — and the line-up joining him isn’t who you’d expect.
There’s something a bit old-school about a murder mystery set in a maximum security prison, but Supermax is aiming to update that formula for the streaming age—plus, it marks Will Smith’s first proper film turn since the minor kerfuffle that was the 2022 Oscars. He’s back in a leading role, taking on one of a pair of FBI agents called in to work out which inmate (or staff) has done something very nasty in the nick. It's all being shot out in Australia, which is unexpected but apparently all the rage now for American stars who fancy a change of scenery.
Production on Supermax began today in New South Wales, Australia.
To keep things lively, Smith’s got AnnaSophia Robb as his less experienced partner, and there’s a growing crew around them—some of whom you might remember from other big streaming projects.
The Cast—Familiar Faces and a Few Surprises
The headline, of course, is Smith himself, cast as FBI agent Rex (props for the no-nonsense name there), in what is shaping up to be his ‘comeback’ after a bit of a break post-Oscars. AnnaSophia Robb (recently seen in Rebel Ridge) is suiting up as the other FBI agent—presumably the foil to Smith’s world-weary lead. We already knew Jaafar Jackson—he of the “that’s Michael Jackson’s nephew” fame—was on board in an undisclosed role, riding high off the critical praise for playing his uncle in this year’s Michael. Now the roster's got even bigger with a fresh batch of additions, the sort you might clock if you’ve been paying attention to modern streaming drama:
- Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who jumped from daytime TV straight into true crime as Lyle Menendez in Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, then did a turn in Ryan Murphy’s Grotesquerie.
- Andrés Almeida, with credits in serious Mexican cinema—think Y tu mamá también and Bardo, both by proper Oscar-winning directors (that’s Cuarón and Iñárritu, if you’re counting).
- Martin Bats Bradford, who’s cropped up with Samuel L. Jackson in Apple’s The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey and starred in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man.
- Erika Ringor, re-teaming with Smith after King Richard—the biopic that netted him his little golden statuette. She’s also been in Bosch: Legacy and The Morning Show.
There's an Australian connection too, as Jason Clarke has joined the ensemble, so expect at least one character who can technically keep up with the locals.
What’s Actually Happening?
Details are being kept close to the chest in terms of who’s playing whom—apart from Smith’s “Rex,” nobody’s characters have been revealed, but it doesn’t seem a stretch to think some of the recent additions are lined up as prisoners, considering the setting. The script comes courtesy of David Weil (Hunters, Solos) and David J. Rosen, directed by David Gordon Green (who’s previously bounced between indie comedy and horror reboots—Pineapple Express, Halloween, that sort of thing). As for where you’ll watch it: no big release date yet, and no trip to your local multiplex either. Supermax is heading straight to Prime Video whenever it's finished.