Will Smith and Michael Bay are no longer reuniting for Fast and Loose. The film is set to star Smith as a man who wakes up in Tijuana only to discover that he has no memories. After piecing together his past bit by bit, he discovers that he has been living a double life as a crime kingpin and an undercover CIA agent.
Fast and Loose is based on a script written by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, Chris Bremner, and Eric Pearson. In October 2024, it was announced that Bay would be taking the director’s chair for the action movie.
Per ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Bay has left Fast and Loose over creative differences with Smith. According to the report, the film contains moments of both comedy and action, but the director-actor duo disagreed on the balance of these genres. Bay wanted to focus heavily on the action sequences, while Smith was more interested in the comedy.
Unable to resolve their differences, Bay has parted ways with Fast and Loose. This will send Netflix searching for a new director, as the project is still moving forward overall. The studio hopes to still film in October of this year.
What This Means For Smith And Bay
This is an unfortunate piece of news for fans of Smith and Bay, as this would have been an exciting reunion. Bay directed the first two Bad Boys movies. These action films would catapult Smith as a movie star and aid in elevating Bay as a blockbuster director.
Bay did not return for the other Bad Boys movies, so it has been a long time since he and Smith worked together. In that time, Smith has further proven himself as an action star. As such, seeing the pair collaborate on an action movie once again with Fast and Loose would have been fun.
That said, Bay fans will not have to worry about a lack of content from the director in the coming years since he has recently been discussing a return to the Transformers universe. Even though the Smith reunion is not happening, this could be a way for Bay to still re-engage with one of his major franchises.
Our Take On Michael Bay’s Departure From The Project
As evidenced by Transformers and even Pearl Harbor, Bay has an eye for action. That is, he is often more focused on sweeping visuals than he is on having an entirely unique script. As such, it makes sense that he would have preferred strong action sequences over comedy moments.
I will be truly interested to see who Netflix will find as Bay’s replacement. It will be challenging to find a director of his caliber, and especially one with the same level of existing rapport with Smith. Netflix should thus choose wisely when it comes to finding the new director for Fast and Loose.
