‘Brilliance’: Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy in talks to direct Will Smith production

After bagging a spot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is off to make yet another mark in Hollywood. The four-time Emmy and two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker is in talks to make her narrative feature directorial debut on Brilliance, a Paramount Pictures adaptation of the Marcus Sakey novel of the same name.

As if that wasn’t big news on its own, there’s more to come. The Pakistani filmmaker will reportedly have the Oscar-winning actor Will Smith producing the thriller — and maybe acting in it too.

Written by Akiva Goldsman, the film has been a passion project for Smith and while he hasn’t committed to star in it yet, rumours have it that there’s the hope of Brilliance being a star vehicle for the King Richard star, as per Deadline.

Obaid-Chinoy is best known for directing her Oscar-winning documentary shorts Saving Face and A Girl in the River, The Price of Forgiveness and most recently Ms Marvel. Smith is producing via his company Westbrook Studios with Jon Mone and Ryan Shimazaki. Goldsman and Greg Lessans are producing via Weed Road Pictures, along with Shane Salerno via The Story Factory, and James Lassiter. The author is a co-producer.

The Brilliance novel trilogy is set in a dystopian future where non-neurotypical people — demonised by society as “twists” or “abnorms” — are threatening the status quo of the “normal” population with their unique gifts. They are officially labelled as “Brilliants” and are carefully tracked by the government. The plan is for Smith to play the book series hero Nick Cooper, a federal agent who works for the Department of Analysis and Response. His job is to track down and terminate criminal abnorms who use their gifts for ill, while his own daughter is Brilliant herself.

There is no release date revealed for the film as of yet.