"I Didn't Get It": Why Will Smith Turned Down Christopher Nolan's $839M Sci-Fi Movie Which He Now Regrets

Will Smith has revealed why he pᴀssed on a $839m Christopher Nolan blockbuster – and why he regrets it to this day. Will Smith conquered Hollywood during the late 1990s with a mixture of talent, charisma and smarts. Regarding the latter, he made sure to study the top ten highest-grossing movies of all time, which all had certain ingredients, like being sci-fi movies featuring monsters. The Will Smith movie formula led to some major hits, including Men in Black, Independence Day and I Am Legend.

Of course, like any movie star, Smith has fronted his share of duds, including Wild Wild West and Collateral Beauty. His judgment isn’t foolproof, which has also led Will Smith to pᴀss on huge movies, including The Matrix. Smith famously pᴀssed on The Matrix in favor of the blockbuster misfire Wild Wild West as he didn’t quite get the premise – which ranks as one of the greatest mistakes of his career.

Will Smith Turned Down Christopher Nolan’s Inception & Regrets It

Will Smith turned down Chris Nolan’s dream project

Will Smith as Agent J looking disgusted in Men in Black 3

For years, there have been reports that Smith was the first actor approached to play Inception’s Cobb, with Leonardo DiCaprio eventually playing the part. Smith has never commented on this publicly, but in a recent chat with radio station KISS XTRA, Smith finally confirmed that he turned Nolan down when he was offered Inception.

I don’t think I’ve ever said it publicly but I am going to say it because we are opening up to one another. Chris Nolan brought me Inception first and I didn’t get it. I’ve never said that out loud.

In hindsight, it’s hard to imagine Smith thinking Inception wouldn’t work. It had such a unique concept and was the latest Christopher Nolan movie, who was riding high off the success of The Dark Knight. For whatever reason, Smith found he didn’t connect to Nolan’s high-concept pitch and pᴀssed. Smith also compared his choice to pᴀss on Inception with The Matrix and found that sci-fi movies involving alternate worlds tend to fly over his head.

Now that I think about it, it’s those movies that go into those alternate realities… they don’t pitch well. But I am hurt by those, too.

Other big movies Smith rejected include Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Johnny Depp later took the role), Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Phone Booth; he also declined to return for the 2016 sequel Independence Day: Resurgence. One of the most fascinating “what ifs” of Smith’s career was his call to pᴀss on Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. The role was essentially his for the taking, but after talking with Tarantino, the star felt the movie should focus on the central love story. not Django’s bloody quest for revenge.

Our Take On Will Smith Rejecting Inception

Smith knows he made a big mistake

Smith is refreshingly candid about his decision to pᴀss on Inception, which would have been a huge movie for him. It might be an example of Smith sticking too rigidly to his own formula, and finding Inception’s hook lacked some elements he required.

Even the biggest stars need to take a risk occasionally to keep their filmography fresh, and with Inception, Smith walked away from what would have been one of his biggest movies. Considering Will Smith’s next movie was Men in Black III, he really should have been a little braver.

Source: KISS XTRA