Bright (film)

Humans coexist with other sentient races, notably orcs and elves. While Magic is known to be real, its practice is illegal. Rare magical artifacts known as magic wands exist, but only a very few individuals called "Brights" can wield them without dying. In Los Angeles, veteran LAPD officer Daryl Ward has been involuntarily partnered with Nick Jakoby, the nation's first orc police officer, equally detested by his brother officers for his race and other orcs for being a policeman. Ward's relationship with Jakoby has been awkward since Ward was wounded by an orc armed robber that Jakoby failed to apprehend and the LAPD's Internal Affairs division suspects Jakoby let the robber escape on purpose.

One night, Ward and Jakoby respond to a disturbance at what turns out to be a safe house for the "Shield of Light", an extremist group that prophesies the return of the "Dark Lord", a semi-mythical figure from thousands of years ago who was defeated by a combined army of eight races (orcs having supported and been defeated with him). Inside, Ward and Jakoby apprehend the lone survivor, an elf girl named Tikka in possession of a wand.

Ward calls for backup but, the moment the four arriving officers see the wand, they try to coerce Ward into killing Jakoby and letting them steal the wand for themselves, reminding Ward that Jakoby has already betrayed him by letting the robber escape.

Ward goes outside and demands the truth about the robber. Jakoby explains that the first orc escaped from him and Jakoby mistakenly apprehended a second, younger one (realizing from his scent that he was not Ward's shooter), then helped him escape from the arriving backup officers, knowing that they would probably gun the kid down on the spot without asking questions.

When the four officers appear behind Ward, planning to kill both him and Jakoby, Ward turns and shoots them down before they can return fire. The gunfire attracts the attention of the local Hispanic gang, whose wheelchair-using leader Poison has seen the wand and believes it can allow him to walk again. Meanwhile, rumors of the wand draw both its owner, Leilah—the leader of the radical elf sect called the Inferni—and Kandomere, an elf FBI agent assigned to the federal "Magic Task Force".

The trio flees through the territory of the Fogteeth Orc clan, disrupting its monthly rave. The gangsters corner the trio in a strip club, but are themselves killed by Leilah and her two enforcers, allowing the trio to escape again. At a service station, Ward contacts his friend Sheriff Deputy Rodriguez, whom he knows he can trust. Rodriguez contacts Kandomere and his human partner Hildebrandt Ulysses Montehugh, but their conversation is intercepted by Leilah, who attacks the service station, killing Rodriguez.

Escaping again, the trio are captured by the Fogteeth Orcs whose leader Dorghu also wants the wand. Dorghu orders his son Mikey to kill Jakoby, but Mikey reveals that he was the orc that Jakoby allowed to escape and thus refuses to kill him. Dorghu sends his son away and kills Jakoby himself. But as he prepares to kill Ward, Tikka produces the wand and uses it to resurrect Jakoby, revealing that she is a Bright. The Fogteeth's shaman pronounces this to be part of a prophecy, causing the clan to kneel to Jakoby and allow the trio to go free. Tikka, now trusting them, reveals that she speaks English and explains that the Inferni believe that assembling three wands will allow them to resurrect the Dark Lord. She was a member of the Inferni but fled the group and was sheltered by the Shield of Light. Leilah loaned her wand to a Bright assassin and sent her to kill Tikka but Tikka escaped with the wand.

Using the wand to resurrect Jakoby has made Tikka gravely ill and the only place she can be healed is a magical pool back at the safe house. They return there, but are ambushed by Leilah and her two guards. In the confrontation, Leilah's guards are killed, but Leilah holds Tikka helpless as Ward and Jakoby run out of ammunition. Ward deliberately grabs the wand, believing that the resulting explosion will kill all of them. To everyone's amazement, Ward survives handling the wand, revealing him to be a Bright as well; the first known Human to be so. With a spell word from Tikka, Ward destroys Leilah, triggering an explosion that sets the building on fire. Tikka disappears and the injured Ward and Jakoby try to escape the building.

Discovering himself alone outside, Jakoby rushes back into the inferno and rescues Ward as the fire department and the ambulance arrive. Dorghu and his clan appear and perform an ancient orc ceremony signifying to Jakoby that he is now "blooded"—an orcish status only achievable by an act of great bravery. While he and Ward are rushed to the hospital, the federal agents arrive to take possession of Leilah's wand. In the hospital, Ward and Jakoby give Kandomere and Montehugh a doctored statement of the previous night's events, understanding that the federal agents want the existence of the wand and any hint of magical activity kept secret. In a public ceremony, Jakoby and Ward are honored for their brave stand against "armed terrorists" though both are disgusted that the corrupt cops are posthumously honored along with them and Rodriguez. Ward smiles as he spots Tikka moving through the crowd in disguise.

• Will Smith as Daryl Ward, a human LAPD officer.
• Joel Edgerton as Nick Jakoby, the nation's first orc police officer, who is partnered with Daryl.
• Noomi Rapace as Leilah, an Inferni elf seeking control of the magic wand.
• Lucy Fry as Tikka, a young Inferni elf who is in possession of the magic wand.
• Édgar Ramírez as Kandomere, a high ranking elvish federal agent with the US Department of Magic's Magic Task Force.
• Ike Barinholtz as Pollard, a corrupt human LAPD officer who seeks to steal the wand for himself.
• Happy Anderson as Hildebrandt Ulysses Montehugh, a human federal agent who works under Kandomere in the Magic Task Force.
• Dawn Olivieri as Sherri Ward, Daryl's human wife and Sophia's mother.
• Matt Gerald as Hicks, a corrupt human LAPD officer.
• Margaret Cho as Ching, a corrupt human LAPD sergeant.
• Brad William Henke as Dorghu, the imposing leader of the Fogteeth Orcs gang.
• Jay Hernandez as Rodriguez, a human LASD deputy.
• Veronica Ngo as Tien, an Inferni elf enforcer working for Leilah.
• Alex Meraz as Serafin, an Inferni elf enforcer working for Leilah.
• Nadia Gray as Larika, an Inferni elf enforcer working for Leilah.
• Joseph Piccuirro as Brown, a corrupt human LAPD officer.
• Enrique Murciano as Poison, the crippled leader of the human Altamira gang who uses a wheelchair.
• Scarlet Spencer as Sophia Ward, Daryl and Sherri's human daughter.
• Andrea Navedo as Perez, a human LAPD captain and Ward's superior.
• Kenneth Choi as Yamahara, a human LAPD internal affairs detective.
• Bobby Naderi as Arkashian, a human LAPD internal affairs detective.
• Cle Shaheed Sloan as OG Mike, the Wards' human neighbor.
• Chris Browning as Serling, a human questioned by the US Department of Magic's Task Force.
• Joe Rogan as himself, who interviews an orc about Jakoby.

(L–R): Director David Ayer and stars Noomi Rapace, Joel Edgerton, Will Smith, Édgar Ramírez, and Lucy Fry at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con

Described as "a contemporary cop thriller, but with fantastical elements", the film was directed by David Ayer and stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton, with a script penned by Max Landis, which Ayer rewrote.[5][6] Netflix officially picked up the film for a $90 million deal with filming beginning in fall 2016, making it the most expensive Netflix film to date.[11] Noomi Rapace entered talks to join the cast in May 2016.[12] Landis stated in an interview that official production was expected to begin in September 2016, but that they had already shot a small part in Los Angeles.[13] Ayer's frequent cinematographer, Roman Vasyanov, was confirmed to be working on the project.[14] On October 15, 2016, Lucy Fry was added to the cast.[15] On October 17, 2016, Andrea Navedo was added to the cast.[16] On October 20, 2016, actor Brad William Henke was cast in the film.[17] On November 1, 2016, Kenneth Choi and Dawn Olivieri were cast in an unnamed role and the role of Smith's wife, respectively.[18] On November 9, Édgar Ramírez was confirmed to be added to the cast.[19] That same month, Alex Meraz, Matt Gerald, Ike Barinholtz and Enrique Murciano joined the cast of the film in undisclosed roles.[20][21][22][23]

The soundtrack, titled Bright: The Album, was released under Atlantic Records on December 15, 2017, just a week before the official release of the film on December 22, 2017. It features songs performed by various artists including Future, Camila Cabello, Logic, Marshmello, Ty Dolla $ign, Bebe Rexha, Lil Uzi Vert, Snoop Dogg, and X Ambassadors.

In December 2017, Netflix ordered a sequel.[51] The following month, Netflix confirmed the sequel was moving ahead, with Smith and Edgerton reprising their roles and Ayer directing and writing the script with Evan Spiliotopoulos.[37] In August 2018, it was announced the film would begin filming in March 2019 in Germany.[52] In September 2019, Lucy Fry revealed that production had been delayed, citing Smith's busy schedule.[53] On May 5, 2020, it was reported that Netflix had entered negotiations with Louis Leterrier, director of The Incredible Hulk and Now You See Me, to direct the sequel.[54]

• Alien Nation
• Cast a Deadly Spell
• Onward (film)
• Shadowrun
• Special Unit 2
• Ugly Americans
• Witch Hunt
• Wishfart

• Bright on Netflix
• Bright at IMDb