Will Smith falls into a war over a wand in Netflix's 'Bright' trailer

By Nick Romano

Let the wand war begin!

Netflix dropped a new Bright trailer on Tuesday, showing off Will Smith in the midst of a street-level skirmish involving fantastical creatures and a glowing wand that’s also a wish-granting weapon of mass destruction. We’ve also got some choice orc-cop banter between LAPD officer Ward (Smith) and his partner, Jakoby (Joel Edgerton).

Directed by Suicide Squad‘s David Ayer, Bright transplants the Men in Black star into an alternate present day where race relations are more of an issue between humans, orcs, faeries, and elves. Riffing on the Black Lives Matter movement, Ward shouts, “Faerie lives don’t matter today,” as he pummels a pest in his front lawn.

Many have already drawn comparisons between this film and 1988’s Alien Nation, which saw tensions rise between humans and the immigrant alien population. But the story driving Bright is one involving a wand.

A routine investigation of a disturbance propels Ward and Jakoby into the path of this magical item that everyone wants — including Noomi Rapace as a elven soldier of fortune. As she says, she can become whatever she needs to be.

Bright, based on a screenplay by Max Landis, also features the talents of Lucy Fry, Edgar Ramirez, Margaret Cho, and Ike Barinholtz. The new footage comes as Smith, Edgerton, and Ayer went down to Brazil to promote the project at the 2017 Comic Con Experience in Sao Paulo.

Netflix will premiere Bright on Dec. 22. Watch the new trailer above.