The Hit Will Smith Thriller That Almost Received A Television Spin-Off

The 1990s was a golden era for paranoid conspiracy thrillers, with many of them tapping into people's distrust of the government and authorities. From "Clear and Present Danger" to "The Fugitive," the decade spawned a slew of flicks about seedy cover-ups and innocent folks being wrongfully accused of crimes they didn't commit, resulting in some edge-of-the-seat entertainment that gave movie fans some food for thought. One of the best of the bunch, the Tony Scott-directed "Enemy of the State," sees Will Smith and Gene Hackman (who might have reprised his character from "The Conversation") play underdogs who join forces to take down corrupt politicians and the National Security Agency — and it almost received a television spin-off.

In the movie, Smith plays Robert Clayton Dean, a lawyer who sets out to expose the truth behind a Congressman's assassination. In short, the official was whacked by his political opponents in the NSA over a bill, and Dean has the evidence to expose the truth. As you can imagine, the real killers don't want to be exposed, and they do everything in their power to hunt down the lawyer. Fortunately for Dean, he has one ally in the form of Brill (Hackman), a former NSA employee who knows how to counter the agency's dirty tactics.

"Enemy of the State" is an action-packed thrill ride that taps into topics like governmental corruption and the surveillance state, both of which are still relevant to this day. With that in mind, it's easy to imagine a contemporary series that explores these ideas through a modern lens having some potential. However, in the end, the "Enemy of the State" TV show just wasn't destined to be.

While an "Enemy of the State" TV series has the potential to be relevant in the modern age, it also makes sense from a commercial perspective. The original film was a box office hit, and it still holds up well after all these years. Back in 2016, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Jerry Bruckheimer was producing a small-screen sequel, set decades after the original film, for ABC. Morgan Foehl was tapped to pen the script, which would have told the story of an attorney and FBI agent teaming up to uncover a conspiracy after a spy leaks top-secret information.

While the details about the story were kept close to the vest, the premise might have been inspired by the scandal pertaining to former NSA contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden leaking documents about governmental surveillance in 2013. Ultimately, the project never materialized for whatever reason, but a show about whistleblowing and corrupt surveillance states might have been too controversial in 2016.

As of this writing, the proposed series appears to be dead in the water, but never say never. "Enemy of the State" found new fans of streaming following Hackman's death, and that success can't hurt in drumming up people's interest in seeing more stories told in this universe. For now, though, we shouldn't get our hopes up.