Will Smith is acquitted of the accusation of plagiarism involving the movie ‘Gemini Project’

Will Smith, 56, was acquitted of plagiarism charges involving the movie “Gemini Project” (2019). In August 2024, the author of science fiction Kissinger Sibanda filed a US against director Ang Lee’s film, claiming that parts of the plot were taken from his book “The Return to Gibraltar”. In late January, a federal judge considered the dismissal complaints.

Just now, almost three weeks later, the verdict was released by In Touch Weekly. “The book details the story of an African-American who is cloned and used on a time travel program without his authorization. During the book’s promotion, Sibanda stated that Will Smith would be a great choice to live the protagonist [em uma adaptação para o cinema]”says an excerpt from the lawsuit.

The writer demanded the payment of $ 1.7 million, citing, in addition to Will Smith, the companies Skydance Productions, Gemini Pictures and Paramount Pictures, as well as producer David Ellison and several others involved in production. So far, only Smith has been acquitted, and the process continues against the other accused.

The movie “Gemini Project” had an estimated budget of $ 138 million and raised approximately $ 173.5 million ($ 997 million), becoming one of the biggest failures of the starry career of Will Smith. The film began to be produced in 1997, suffered several postponements and was only released in 2019.