Serena & Venus Williams didn't agree to produce 'King Richard' until seeing it: Will Smith

Will Smith will soon be seen in the biographical drama film King Richard based on the life of Richard Williams, the father and coach of famed tennis players Venus and Serena Williams. Smith in an interview revealed that the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus waited to become the producers of the movie until they watched it.

Serena and Venus William's waited to produce King Richard

As per ScreenRant, Smith appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss the upcoming King Richard and revealed that tennis superstars and sisters, Venus Williams and Serena Williams, waited on hopping aboard as producers for King Richard until they watched the film. He said, "It is terrifying when you play a real person that is still alive, and you know that they’re going to see it. It was beautiful. Venus and Serena were really excited about the possibility, and they said that they would potentially be executive producers and they were going to walk us through the whole process, but they were going to withhold whether or not they put their names on the film until they saw it."

King Richard premiered at the 48th Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2021, and received positive reviews with Will Smith's performance garnering universal acclaim. The movie is slated for a theatrical release on November 19, 2021, by Warner Bros. Pictures, with a month-long simultaneous release on the HBO Max streaming service. The movie also stars Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton as Venus and Serena respectively.

Will Smith had earlier taken to his Instagram and shared a trailer of the movie. As he shared the trailer, Smith wrote, "One of the greatest honours as an actor is to be able to celebrate someone’s legacy while they’re still here creating it. I’ve gotten to do it a few times in my career playing @ceoofhappyness and @muhammadali, and every time it’s a fulfilling and expansive experience beyond compare. So now, I’m proud to show you all our first trailer for #KingRichard, the story of the man who introduced the world to @venuswilliams and @serenawilliams. The origin story for some REAL DEAL superheroes."

Image: Instagram/@willsmith/@serenawilliams