Will Smith runs the Con Game in New Trailer for 'Focus'

Before Will Smith dives into his first comic book film with Suicide Squad, he'll try to reclaim the box office crown he lost some years ago. It's been a long time since the former Fresh Prince had a role that showed the charming qualities which made him a star to begin with, but with the conman romance Focus he looks to be back in top form.

Joined by Margot Robbie, who will also have a role in Suicide Squad, the film centers on a seasoned con man who becomes romantically involved with a hot young upstart. But their romantic past comes back to haunt him three years later when she resurfaces during a major con. The latest trailer plays up the sexiness plus the many twists and turns, and it will be interesting to see how Smith fares in a genre he's never really dealt with before.

Written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, Focus opens February 27th. Check out the new trailer below.

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Will Smith and Margot Robbie get in 'Focus' in New Posters

Will Smith and The Wolf of Wall Street's Margot Robbie feature on two new posters for con man flick, Focus, directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. The film opens February 27 2015, and look for a new trailer to debut tomorrow.

SYNOPSIS: Will Smith stars as Nicky, a seasoned master of misdirection who becomes romantically involved with novice con artist Jess (Margot Robbie).  As he’s teaching her the tricks of the trade, she gets too close for comfort and he abruptly breaks it off.  Three years later, the former flame—now an accomplished femme fatale—shows up in Buenos Aires in the middle of the high stakes racecar circuit.  In the midst of Nicky’s latest, very dangerous scheme, she throws his plans for a loop…and the consummate con man off his game.

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Will Smith and Margot Robbie Con One Another in First Trailer for 'Focus'

As noted yesterday when the first images of the crime comedy Focus were released, Will Smith has been keeping a distance from the kinds of charming roles that made him popular to begin with. As easy as it may be to knock a film like Hitch now, it was a big hit and audiences loved him in it. It was also the rare film by Smith that wasn't part of some mega franchise. Well the Smith audiences have been craving seems to be back in the first trailer for Focus.

Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the duo behind Crazy Stupid Love, Focus stars Smith and The Wolf of Wall Street's Margot Robbie as con artists looking for a big score. The problem is they fell in love years earlier when he took the newcomer under his tutelage, and now that past romantic entanglement is causing all kinds of problems. This one has been in the works for awhile and it could have looked very different if the original casts had stuck around. Initially it was set to reteam Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, followed by Ben Affleck and Kristen Stewart which would have been incredibly weird. This film reminds me of Ed Burns' 2003 film, Confidence, which is a very good thing.

Focus opens February 27th 2015.

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First Look at Will Smith and Margot Robbie in Crime Caper 'Focus'

It's been a long time since we've seen Will Smith putting his considerable charm to good use. Lately he's played a sewer-dwelling Satan in Winter's Tale and a gruff military commander in After Earth. Not surprisingly, neither film did very well. Audiences have been eager for a chance to see Smith's smooth personality on display again, and they'll get just that when the crime comedy Focus opens next year.

The trailer for Focus has been playing in theaters for a couple of weeks but has yet to come online. That should be changing soon enough, but for now USA Today has released the first images. Smith stars alongside The Wolf of Wall Street's Margot Robbie in a caper film about an experienced con man who takes a sexy young upstart under his wing, only for romantic entanglements get in the way of a huge score.

Crazy Stupid Love duo of John Requa and Glenn Ficarra directed the film, and they talked about finding that same chemistry in Smith and Robbie that they had with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.

Requa:  "Will said, 'You're going to have trouble finding a girl because I kind of have a large personality.' And he was right. But Margot walked in and just put everybody on their heels. When she walked out of the room, Will turned to us and said, 'Mmhm.'"

Ficarra:  "It was the same moment we had with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling when they first read together. Here's Ryan Gosling, this very desirable male 'hubba hubba' dude. And Emma just came in and owned him. She didn't pause for a minute. She just proceeded to insult him."

Focus is set to open next year on February 27th. 

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Will Smith Circles Sci-Fi Thriller, 'Brilliance'; 'Focus' Gets Winter 2015 Date

It's been a rough year for Will Smith as the former box office champ doesn't have the pull he once did. Last year's After Earth bombed quite publicly, and his hysterical appearances in the equally-disastrous Winter's Tale didn't do much to help. That didn't stop him from turning down an Independence Day sequel, and perhaps he did it because something else of a similar genre was on the table.

Smith is circling a lead role in Brilliance, a sci-fi film based on the trilogy of novels by Marcus Sakey. Julius Onah (The Girl is in Trouble) is directing from a David Koepp script, and it sounds a lot like the X-men, or maybe Brian Michael Bendis' comic, Powers. Here's the book synopsis:

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.

The second book in the series will be published soon, and this is clearly being eyed as a potential franchise for Smith, his first since Men in Black wrapped up.

Before that, we'll see Smith back in theaters next year, and nope it won't be during the thick of summer. Told you times were rough. His con-man film, Focus, has been set for February 27th 2015. A winter date for a Will Smith movie? Is that a bad sign or what? Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, with Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street) co-starring, it stars Smith as a con artist whose romantic relationship with a young upstart comes back to haunt him years later.  [TheWrap]

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Margot Robbie Takes 'Focus' Opposite Will Smith

There have been a lot of changes at the top of the card for John Requa and Glenn Ficarra's crime caper, Focus. Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Ben Affleck, and Kristen Stewart have all been attached at various point, but when deals didn't work out it was Will Smith who slid into the main role. Even with the recent dud that was After Earth, a star of his magnitude opens up the chance for a lesser known female lead, and it appears one has been found in Margot Robbie.

Already set to join Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street and Rachel McAdams in About Time, Robbie will join Smith in the story of a veteran con man who has a romantic fling with a young upstart, only to have their past get in the way years later during a job. According to Variety, Robbie beat out a number of more experienced and recognizable actresses, including Rose Byrne, Michelle Williams, and Jessica Biel. But it sounds as if Warner Bros. was set on picking a fresher face, as the other finalist for the role was The Newsroom's Olivia Munn.

Expect this one to get moving as soon as Robbie wraps up Suite Francais and Matthew Michael Carnahan's Violent Talent. 

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