Will Smith Takes On Alcoholic Superhero Role In Upcoming Summer Blockbuster

Fresh off his current smash hit, I Am Legend, box office giant Will Smith already has the wheels in motion for his next movie, which is set to be released this summer.

In the new special effects-laden comedy, entitled Hancock, Smith plays an alcoholic superhero of the same name. When he's not hitting the bottle, he's a hard-living, would-be savior to the city, but the sauce causes him to do more harm than good. [Peep the trailer below]

In a recent interview with the Associated Press Smith explained how he chooses the roles he would like to play.

"It's all material and team," Smith said. "It's that simple. My experience has been that a lot of actors start with a good role that they would want to play. I never start with the role. I start with, 'Is this a movie that people would want to see? Would anyone want to see this movie? OK, who? What about this makes it a movie people want to see vs. a character people would want to see?'"

If history is any indicator, Hancock is destined for box office success. As previously reported, Smith made history over the weekend with I Am Legend, pulling in $76.5 million; the best December debut weekend of all time.

The actor has one of the most impressive resumes in Hollywood. In 2002 Smith pulled in $52 million with Men In Black 2; in 2003 Bad Boys 2 raked in $46.5 million; I, Robot made $52 million in 2004; Shark Tale earned $47.6 million, the same year; the 2005 release, Hitch, pulled in $43 million; and The Pursuit of Happyness, which came out last year, made $26.5 million--all in their opening weekends.

Hancock hits theaters on July 2, 2008.