Is 2010 the Year of the Will Smith Sequel Announcement?

Sure seems that way!

Will Smith has come a long way from the mean basketball courts of West Philly. Now one of the most coveted names in Hollywood, he commands a big paycheck and guarantees returns at the box office. It’s no wonder, then, that studios are chomping at the bit to sign the big-draw actor up for sure-to-win sequels to some of his biggest blockbusters. That’s exactly what’s happening this spring, with announcements that the actor will revisit three of his most popular roles: Captain Steve Hiller, Agent Jay and Detective Mike Lowery.

We begin our tale with 20th Century Fox, which is now swimming in a Scrooge McDuck-sized pool of money from its Avatar earnings and, reportedly, more amenable to Smith’s high price tag for another Independence Day movie. Fox has wanted to give the alien-invasion flick the sequel treatment for some time now, and it’s said that there are in fact two more ID4 movies in the works, set to film back-to-back as early as 2011. So far, Fox has declined to comment.

Continuing his alien-regulatin’ duties over at Columbia Pictures, Smith is also signed on for Men in Black III, which will see Milk star Josh Brolin join the ET task force. MIB 3 is due to hit theaters in May of 2012.

After kicking all that otherworldly ass, surely Smith will be relieved to don a bulletproof vest and cap some regular old Homo sapiens alongside Martin Lawrence in a third Bad Boys installment. MTV reports that producer Jerry Bruckheimer has confirmed the wheels are in motion for this film, based on “a terrific idea for a screenplay” from none other than the man of the hour himself, Mr. Willard Christopher “Will” Smith, Jr.

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