Will Smith’s next action movie has secured its female co-lead

Right, Will Smith is back at it again with a new action thriller — and there’s been a bit of movement on the casting front. The film’s called Supermax, and it’s under the Amazon MGM Studios banner. For those who like an inside look at how films come together, this one’s been sparking chat not just because of who’s in it, but where (and how) you’ll be able to see it.

Casting: Enter AnnaSophia Robb

The big news: AnnaSophia Robb has joined Supermax as Smith’s co-lead. If you’re at all familiar with her CV, you’ll know her from childhood hits like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bridge to Terabithia, that surfing film about the girl who loses her arm (that’s Soul Surfer), and playing young Carrie Bradshaw in The Carrie Diaries. She’s also signed on to play Sylvester Stallone’s first wife, Sasha Czack, in another Amazon MGM Studios film called I Play Rocky, which is about how the original Rocky came to be made.

The film’s $70 million deal means it’s skipping cinemas and going straight to Prime Video.

The Prison Plot & Who’s Behind It

Supermax is built around two FBI agents — Smith as Rex, Robb as the other — investigating a murder inside what’s apparently the most secure prison in the world. If you’re imagining something like Silence of the Lambs meets a modern action flick, you’re probably not far off. Direction is down to David Gordon Green (Halloween reboot, The Exorcist: Believer — so, horror cred and then some), with a script by David Weil and David J. Rosen. These two handled scripts for Hunters and Invasion, so expect plenty of intensity and a fair few twists.

Release Circumstances: The Streaming Gamble

Now here’s the weird bit. Despite Will Smith being, well, Will Smith — with blockbuster history to his name — Supermax will not be showing in cinemas. At all. Amazon MGM snapped it up for a whopping seventy million dollars and is sending it straight to Prime Video. Fans and industry types alike have raised their eyebrows — some reckon that missing out on a big screen run is a waste, considering Smith’s box office pull worldwide.

Production & Who’s Involved

If you like keeping tabs on behind-the-scenes types, here’s a quick list of who’s making this happen:

• Will Smith — leading and producing via his Westbrook company
• Adam Fishbach — producing with Smith
• Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona — producing for The Picture Company
• Jonathan Glickman (Miramax CEO), Alexandra Loewy, Thom Zadra, and Spencer Ela — executive producers

Filming is due to kick off later this year. The addition of Robb makes things that bit more interesting, and I’ll be honest, shoving Will Smith and AnnaSophia Robb into a locked-down prison scenario overseen by David Gordon Green could be a proper thrill. Streaming-only release or not, the film’s now got a bit more spark to it.