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September 7, 2008


Will Smith may next morph into a god.

"Braveheart" scribe Randall Wallace will write "The Last Pharaoh," a Columbia drama crafted as a vehicle for Smith to play Taharqa, the pharaoh who battled Assyrian invaders in ancient Egypt.

Smith, James Lassiter and Ken Stovitz will produce for Overbrook Entertainment.

Smith, who has long wanted to play the pharaoh, brought Wallace the Taharqa story.

The film will focus on his battles with Assyrian leader Esarhaddon starting in 677 B.C.

Smith next stars for Columbia in "Seven Pounds," a reteam with "Pursuit of Happyness" director Gabriele Muccino that Overbrook produced with Escape Artists.

Wallace will next direct a Mike Rich-scripted Disney film about Triple Crown-winning racehorse Secretariat and its owner, Penny Chenery. He also just signed on to a Jerry Bruckheimer-produced Disney adaptation of the WWII battle saga "Killing Rommel," which Wallace will write with author Steven Pressfield.