Will Smith's Hancock was going to star Aishwarya Rai as Mary Embrey; read more trivia

Will Smith has been one of the most popular actors in Hollywood. He has worked in several action films over the years and most of his action films are loved by fans for the implacable acting skills he has. One such film is 2008's Hancock. This action and fantasy film features Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman in leading roles. The story of this film revolves around a superhero named Hancock. He is not liked by the government as his behaviour regularly causes millions of dollars worth of damages. In the film, we see his transformation so that he can save lives. But things go south when he meets another superhero like him. Here are some more interesting trivia facts that you should know about.  

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Will Smith's Hancock trivia

• The original screenplay of the film was much darker than what we see in the film. Apart from being a low-life, the film was also going to Hancock as a sexually frustrated person. It was because he could not have intercourse without killing the woman. But it was removed from the final cut as the test audience did not find it funny. 

• The original title of this film was going to be 'Tonight, He Comes'. And with this title, the script had floated around in Hollywood for over a decade before being picked up. The film was later retitled 'John Hancock' and then finally was released as Hancock.

• Will Smith hails from Philadelphia which is the home of the Philadelphia Eagles. And he used this in the film. The eagle on the back of Hancock's uniform is a replica of the Eagles logo that the team used from 1948 to 1995.

• Dave Chappelle was considered for the lead role in the film.

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• Will Smith wanted Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play the role of Mary Embrey in Hancock. But the actress turned down the role due to scheduling conflicts.

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• The movie was shipped to some theatres with the codename 'Hidden from Earth'.

• It is said that Warner Bros. passed on the chance of making this film after which Sony stepped in and produced the film. 

• This was the second film that starred Will Smith and Charlize Theron together. Before this, they were seen together in the 2000s The Legend of Bagger Vance.

• The robbers in the white SUV at the start of the film are heard speaking Vietnamese. A flag in their car also confirms that they were from Vietnam. 

• It is said that Daeg Faerch did all his own stunts. 

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• All promotional material for this film was shot in 1.85:1 aspect ratio.

• In the movie, Hancock mentions that he hails from Miami and Will Smith stars as a police detective in the Bad Boys movies which were shot in Miami.

• Before the shooting had started the crew had estimated that the film would have about 300 effects shots. But the final cut of the film had about 525 effects shots.