Will Disney Fire Will Smith? (& From How Many Movies)
One of the topics that have been making rounds throughout the internet the past few weeks is Will Smith because of how he slapped Chris Rock in front of millions of viewers on national television during the 2022 Academy Awards. It isn’t a secret that Will Smith has been quite big in Disney movies and shows as of late, and it also isn’t a secret that Disney doesn’t mind dropping the hammer on stars that have misbehaved. So, will Disney fire Will Smith?
There is no news regarding whether or not Disney will fire Will Smith from his roles. That’s because most of his current roles with Disney are one-off in the sense that there is no assurance that there will be sequels. And Disney is probably waiting for the issue to die down before making a decision.
It might be true that Disney isn’t shy about parting ways with stars that have done or said something that isn’t in line with what the company is all about. That said, it is important that we look at what we know about the roles that Will Smith has with Disney to understand whether or not he’ll be fired sometime in the near future.
Is Disney Going To Fire Will Smith For Assaulting Chris Rock?
It isn’t a secret that one of the most controversial moments in live television history came during the 2022 Academy Awards when none other than Hollywood megastar Will Smith slapped all-time great comedian Chris Rock in front of the entire world. This came after Rock made a somewhat controversial joke about Smith’s wife.
While there may be a lot of people who may argue that Chris Rock was in the wrong for making that joke, there are more people that would agree that assaulting him was not the right move for Will Smith, who could have used a more appropriate measure to show his displeasure towards the joke aimed at his wife. And this has led to a lot of serious repercussions on the part of Smith, who has been banned from the Academy Awards for ten years.
There is also a good chance that Will Smith will end up losing some of his roles in the movies and shows that he has become a fixture. Of course, he also works with Disney, a company known to be family-friendly and will never approve of violence in any of its forms. So, does that mean that Disney will fire Will Smith for assaulting Chris Rock?
As of the moment, there isn’t anything related to whether or not Disney has decided to axe Will Smith from future projects, given the fact that the issue regarding him and Chris Rock is still relatively new. Of course, while Smith did, in fact, work with Disney on a few projects over the past several years, there are still no updates regarding the future of some of those projects.
It is possible that Disney doesn’t plan on firing him, given the fact that he still can be a good draw in any movie. But that remains to be seen, especially with how polarizing Will Smith’s actions were during the Oscars.
On How Many Projects Does Will Smith Work For Disney?
A good reason why Disney has been working with Will Smith on a few projects over the past several years is the fact that he is a very bankable star that can attract attention on his own. For example, one of the biggest movies he has worked in over the past few years is the live-action remake of Aladdin, which drew over a billion dollars at the box office.
Moreover, Will Smith has also appeared in a series called Welcome to Earth, which is a Disney+ original wherein Will Smith goes to some of the most remote locations on the planet while offering insight into them. It’s a good series that has become critically acclaimed because of how ambitious it is.
Aladdin and Welcome to Earth are the two biggest projects that Will Smith works on for Disney. It is unknown whether or not there are going to be future projects with different titles, but we do know that both Aladdin and Welcome to Earth are successful enough to warrant more movies or episodes.
Why Hasn’t Disney Fired Will Smith?
One of the things that Disney isn’t shy of doing is to axe actors that have misbehaved or have criminal charges against them. That’s because Disney, first and foremost, is a company that markets itself to be family-friendly. As such, it cannot handle the controversy surrounding actors and personalities that have said or done something against what Disney stands for. But how is it that Disney hasn’t fired Will Smith?
Probably the biggest reason why Disney is yet to let Will Smith go is the fact that there aren’t any plans set in stone regarding his roles with the company. Aladdin 2 is more than likely going to happen and may see a 2025 release, but there aren’t any updates regarding what the story is all about and whether or not Will Smith will be returning to play Genie. Meanwhile, despite how successful it is, Welcome to Earth is yet to be renewed.
In that regard, considering that some of the roles that Will Smith has with Disney are not yet confirmed, there is no reason for Disney to make the announcement that they are letting the megastar go. Of course, it also is possible that they are still deciding on the financial ramifications of letting a huge box office draw like him go.
It isn’t a secret that Will Smith is widely known for creating gold out of many of the different films he appeared in. In fact, he is the only big-name actor in Aladdin and was able to contribute to the $1 billion box office draw of that movie.
While Smith’s ability to draw in audiences will certainly get diminished after assaulting Chris Rock, he still is able to draw more viewers than the next best choice for Disney. In that regard, it is also possible that the company is just waiting for the issue to die down before finally making a decision regarding Will Smith’s future with Disney.
After all, as family-friendly as Disney may be, it still is known for producing movies that are able to break the one-billion mark at the box office, and Will Smith is a name that is too hard to pass out on when it comes to stars that can draw in audiences.
How Many Actors Has Disney Fired Due To Criminal Charges Or Bad Behavior?
At this point, you might be wondering why we are talking about Will Smith and the possibility of him getting fired by Disney. The reason why we are looking at this topic goes back to the fact that Disney isn’t shy about letting stars and personalities go whenever they have criminal charges or have misbehaved in a manner that isn’t in line with what Disney stands for.
The biggest star that Disney has let go of is Johnny Depp, who the company fired after the issue regarding his alleged abusive actions towards ex-wife Amber Heard surfaced. While there are reasons to believe that Heard is on the wrong end of the charges, Disney still decided to let Depp go because of how huge the issue became. And Johnny Depp is one of the most lucrative stars the company has ever had because of how much the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has grossed with him leading the charge.
While the charges against Depp are serious enough for Disney to let him go, there are also instances when the company fired actors and personalities that have become controversial. Gina Carano was removed from the cast of The Mandalorian due to social media posts that were politically controversial. Meanwhile, James Gunn, who made Guardians of the Galaxy big, was removed from the project due to similar instances but has since been reinstated to direct the third movie.
YouTube stars PewDiePie and Jake Paul were also removed due to actions and posts that the company doesn’t necessarily approve of. Of course, Terrence Howard, who was the original James Rhodes in Iron Man, was removed and replaced by Don Cheadle due to pay disputes.
In that regard, we do know that Disney will axe stars and personalities for any kind of reason, regardless of how big or small the issues may be. And judging from the fact that the company let a megastar like Johnny Depp go, Disney isn’t shy about firing some of its biggest stars as well.
This allows us to wonder how serious Will Smith’s offense is for a big star like him to get the axe from Disney as well. And judging from the fact that Disney is weirdly quiet about the Will Smith issue, anyone would be curious about how the company will handle his actions towards Chris Rock and how it would affect his standing with any of the possible future projects he has with arguably the biggest entertainment company in the world.
