— Updated on 29 January 2023

WATCH: Will Smith Is Serena & Venus Williams’ Father In ‘King Richard’

— Updated on 29 January 2023
Garry Lu
WORDS BY
Garry Lu

Sport films are a rich territory for high emotions. Brian’s SongField of Dreams… MoneyballRemember The TitansWarrior… it’s a hallowed cinematic pantheon which has traditionally provided the stoniest operators a perfect reason to shed some tears. And soon enough, this very pantheon may have a new inductee in King Richard, starring Will Smith as Richard Williams – father / mentor / coach to tennis superstars, Serena and Venus Williams.

Depicting the real-life mythology of Richard Williams, an “undeterred father” dedicated to raising transcendent athletes who would eventually change the landscape of tennis forever, King Richard will follow the journey of the family patriarch and prodigious Williams sisters from their humble beginnings in Compton, all the way to their rise as global phenoms. Already, based on the preview dropped this morning, many can smell Oscar gold.

“I wrote a 78-page plan for their whole career before they were even born,” Smith can be heard saying in the trailer.

“You’re going to be representing every little Black girl on Earth.”

RELATED: Matt Damon & Ben Affleck Reunite For Medieval Epic ‘The Last Duel’

Will Smith is joined by Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton as Venus and Serena Williams, respectively. Aunjanue Ellis has taken on the role of Oracene “Brandi” Williams, mother to the girls. Tony Goldwyn, on the other hand, portrays Coach Paul Cohen, while the one and only Jon Bernthal portrays the legendary Coach Rick Macci – a figure renowned for training a total of five #1 tennis players in addition to the Williams sisters (Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati).

“If I were playing a baseball player, it’d be deeply important to me that baseball players would say, “This guy looks like a baseball player.” At least as close as I could get to that point,” Jon Bernthal revealed to BH exclusively during a recent interview promoting Taylor Sheridan’s Those Who Wish Me Dead.

“I play a tennis player in a new movie called King Richard which is coming out, I trained extensively in tennis (I never played before).”

The upcoming biopic has been directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, who has most notably helmed Monsters & Men, Joe Bell, as well as a few episodes of hit British crime drama series, Top Boy. Zach Baylin – who is also writing Creed III as we speak – has penned the screenplay, and Robert Elswit has accomplished the cinematography (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, The Town).

King Richard is currently scheduled to hit Aussie cinemas on November 18th of 2021 – check out the first trailer above.

king richard trailer - will smith

Subscribe to B.H. Magazine

Garry Lu
WORDS by
After stretching his legs with companies such as The Motley Fool and the odd marketing agency, Garry joined Boss Hunting in 2019 as a fully-fledged Content Specialist. In 2021, he was promoted to News Editor. Garry proudly retains a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, black bruises from Muay Thai, as well as a black belt in all things pop culture. Drop him a line at [email protected]

TAGS

Share the article