Box Office legend Will Smith returns to the big screen in a big way starring in Warner Bros’s. highly anticipated drama King Richard.
“This world ain’t never had no respect for Richard Williams, but they’re gonna have respect for y’all,” said Smith in the trailer clip.
The Bad Boys 4 Life star plays Richard Williams and his unsung role in elevating his daughters, Venus and Serena, into two of the greatest tennis players in history. The drama chronicles the sisters’ rise from Compton, California to international fame and the man who helped get them there.
Smith expressed his joy for the role on his Instagram. “One of the greatest honors as an actor is to be able to celebrate someone’s legacy while they’re still here creating it,” he wrote in his caption.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star goes on to mention his previous Academy Award-nominated roles in Pursuit of Happyness and Muhammad Ali in Ali (Both of which he was nominated for an Academy Award).
“The origin story for some REAL DEAL superheroes,” Smith wrote. “Thank You Venus, Serena, Isha, Lyndrea, Yetunde, Oracene, and Richard for letting us share your story with the World!”
Production and co-stars
Directed by Monsters and Men Reinaldo Marcus Green, the movie stars Fences and Hidden Figures actress, Saniyya Sidney as Venus and Godfather of Harlem’s Demi Singleton as Serena. Lovecraft Country’s Aunjanue Ellis plays Brandi Williams, Venus and Serena’s mother, and wife to Richard.
Venus and Serena Williams are listed as executive producers with their sister Isha Price. Smith, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Tim White, and Trevor White are also executive producers.
“This should be good,” Serena captioned the trailer video on her Instagram.
Watch the trailer video below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKP_0z52ZAw]
Who is the real Richard Williams?
The real Richard Williams was a professional tennis coach. According to Venus and Serena Williams: A Biography, by Jaqueline Edmondson, Williams decided that his daughters would become tennis stars after he watched Virginia Ruzici playing on television.
“If you stand up and live the life that you should live, you can be a president like Obama,” Williams said in a 2014 Canadian interview.
In a 2003 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Serena said their father did not get enough credit for their fame.
“Our father doesn’t get enough credit. He showed us how to serve, and we have the biggest serves in women’s tennis,” Serena said.
“I’m proud of my dad,” Venus said in the same interview. “He is an unbelievable visionary—and I think Serena and I understood that even when we were small.
Premiere date
King Richard premieres in theaters on Nov. 19th and on HBO Max for 31 days.
