The Wrap is reporting Will Smith is in early talks to star in Brilliance for Nigerian-born director Julius Onah (God Particle, Big Man) with script from David Koepp (Premium Rush, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit).
[amz asin=”B00AESRRQS” size=”small”]Koepp adapted the film from Marcus Sakey‘s book of the same name, described as follows:
In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called “brilliants,” and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in–and betray his own kind.
Should Brilliance get the greenlight it would be distributed by Universal Pictures, and most likely end up as a 2016 release. Smith, however, recently saw his next film, Focus land a February 27, 2015 release.
Brilliance will serve as Onah’s second major feature film in a row as he was tapped in 2012 to direct God Particle for J.J. Abrams over at Paramount, it too is a sci-fi film and was one of the most hotly contested open directing assignments when Onah landed the project.
Check out Onah’s most recent short film, Big Man directly below.
