The development of Hancock 2, the sequel to 2008’s Hancock, has been made even more difficult after Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars controversy. Smith starred in Hancock as an invulnerable, immortal, alcoholic superhero, who has seen a lot of backlash in the public consciousness for his rough-around-the-edges approach to heroism. Though Hancock received a mixed response from critics and audiences alike, rumors of a sequel began circulating not long after the original film’s release, and despite not much information being confirmed, it seems the development of Hancock 2 might be even harder now in the wake of Smith’s actions at the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony.

On the same night Smith received his first Best Actor Oscar, he received an immense amount of backlash after he responded to Chris Rock making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s, shaved head by walking onto the stage and slapping the comedian. In the aftermath, Smith saw many of his upcoming projects postponed, received a lot of anger from the public and Hollywood peers, and found himself resigning from the Academy and being banned from Academy functions, including the Oscars, for ten years. These actions stirred up a huge amount of controversy surrounding the Hollywood family man, which could put future planned projects in jeopardy.