Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon has officially traded out comic book superstars for the lead role in his latest movie, Collateral Beauty, with Will Smith—lately of Suicide Squad—taking over the part recently vacated by permanent Wolverine Hugh Jackman. Smith will star in Gomez-Rejon’s follow-up to the celebrated Me And Earl And The Dying Girl, playing an advertising worker whose coworkers hatch an “unconventional plan” to break him out of his depression after a personal tragedy.
It was originally rumored that Johnny Depp—who’s been busy lately reminding people how good he can be when he takes off his raven hat and actually bothers to act—was in talks to play the part, but it looks like Gomez-Rejon eventually went with the similarly afflicted Smith for the role. The actor will star in the film with Rooney Mara, who’ll hopefully get to play an actual character, and not just a lady-shaped vessel for her co-star’s personal growth and change, even as the film’s premise—and Gomez-Rejon’s track record—set off “the healing power of love” alarms all across the world.
Meanwhile, there’s no word yet on how Jaden Smith will somehow also be shoe-horned into the film, but fans can rest assured that Smith’s crew of talented Jadenologists are already hard at work to find the proper opening to gracelessly force him in.