Will Smith is training champions in his latest film.
The actor stars as Richard Williams, the father and first coach of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams in the trailer for King Richard, which debuted online on Wednesday.
The trailer follows the training that Richard prepared for his two daughters and tracks the bond they forged over the years, including with mom Oracene Price and half-sisters Lyndrea Price and Tunde Price.
Despite not having an extensive background in tennis, when Serena, now 39, and Venus, now 41, were children, Richard wrote up a 78-page plan to make them tennis stars. He began giving lessons to his daughters when they were 4-years-old.
“I think you might just have the next Michael Jordan,” Jon Bernthal’s Rick Macci (who also coached the Williams sisters) tells Richard, who responds, “Oh no, brother man, I gots me the next two.”
Further in the trailer, Richard tells his daughters,
“The most dangerous creature on this whole Earth is a woman who knows how to think. Ain’t nothing she can’t do. You’re going to show them how dangerous you are?”
Smith, 52, shared the trailer on his Instagram and YouTube channels, writing, “One of the greatest honors 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 Chris Gardner and Muhammad Ali, 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 @Venus Williams and Serena Williams,” Smith wrote. “The origin story for some REAL DEAL superheroes!!”
“Thank You Venus, Serena, Isha, Lyndrea, Yetunde, Oracene and Richard for letting us share your story with the World!” he added, “See y’all on Nov 19 in theaters and @HBO Max!”
Serena once said of her father: “He’s been the most important person in my career. He watches my matches. He still tells me things that I’m not doing right.”
“It all started with an idea,” she said. “It was his idea. It’s changed sports. It’s changed history.”
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (Joe Bell) and written by Zach Baylin, the film also stars Tony Goldwyn, Dylan McDermott, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton and Aunjanue Ellis.
The Williams sisters, their half-sister Isha Price, Jada Pinkett Smith, James Lassiter, Adam Merims, Lynn Harris, Allan Mandelbaum, Jon Mone and Peter Dodd all serve as executive producers of the film.