One can not talk about stardom in Hollywood without mentioning the Academy Award-winning actor, Will Smith. Starting his journey from the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the 54-year-old actor, has come a long way. Over the years, Smith’s reputation and success in the industry have increased his star value significantly. The actor who once started with $2 million pay in the first Bad Boys film landed a $17M paycheck in the latest installment. This gave Smith enough freedom to choose what movies he wanted to headline. 

Wednesday director Tim Burton’s 2019 movie was one of the movies that the actor decided to pass on. In the year 2017, news about Smith backing out of the project started circulating, setting the media abuzz. 

The other reason behind Will Smith passing on the Wednesday director’s movie

The 2019 American fantasy period adventure film, Dumbo, was under production since 2014. The movie did an average business and received lukewarm responses from both critics and the audience. Smith, who played Genie in Disney’s live-action film adaptation of Aladdin in the same year, refused to star in Tim Burton’s film. Deadline reported that the reasons behind the Men In Black actor’s refusal were scheduling and salary. The actor reportedly demanded $20 million dollars, which exceeded the makers’ budget.

Trailing just one spot behind Tom Cruise, the Bad Boys For Life actor comes second in the list for one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. With a net worth of $350 million, it was not surprising for the actor to demand such a hefty paycheck. However, it was a smart decision on Smith’s end as Dumbo performed unimpressively at the box office. On the other hand, Aladdin became a billion-dollar success, for which he earned $20 million, as per Diario AS.

Despite this failure, Burton presented the world with a show that became number one on Netflix in 83 countries. After two years, he is again on the news for reuniting the 90s couple in his upcoming horror sequel.

Tim Burton’s upcoming movie will make many dreams come true

The 65-year-old filmmaker will be hitting the big screens five years after his 2019 live-action adaptation. Beetlejuice 2 will release on 6th September 2024 and will feature prominent Netflix stars, Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega. It will be a sequel to the 1988 American fantasy horror comedy film that became the 10th-highest-grossing film of 1988. However, the reason this movie is garnering so much attention from fans is a rumored cameo. 

While there has not been any confirmation from either the actor or the filmmaker, as per rumors, Johnny Depp will make an appearance in the upcoming flick. Even Burton contributed to the buzz by saying that he would work with Depp “If the right thing was around.” However, fans, who are still obsessed with the unrequited love story of Depp and Ryder, have been on cloud nine ever since the news surfaced. This will mark the first movie of the stars after their Gothic romance, Edward Scissorhands, which came out 33 years back.

What do you think about Will Smith’s refusal to be a part of Tim Burton’s movie? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.