Paramount Pictures has acquired writer Sascha Penn's spec script Bounty, which has Will Smith attached to star. Paramount picked up the script in competitive bidding situation, with Madhouse Entertainment and Will Smith's company Overbrook Entertainment set to produce.

The story follows a man (Will Smith) wrongly convicted of murder, who breaks out of prison to try and clear his name. Unfortunately for the escaped convict, this task is made even more difficult after the murder victim's widow puts out a $10 million bounty on his head, dead or alive. Madhouse's Adam Kolbrenner will produce alongside Will Smith, with Robyn Meisinger set to executive produce.

No director is attached at this time, and it isn't known when production may begin. Sascha Penn is attached to write The Idolmaker for MGM, and he is also writing an untitled firefighter project for Lionsgate. He also sold Yakuza vs. Mafia to Good Universe and the sci-fi spec The Ditch to Warner Bros. He most recently served as a writer and producer on the Starz TV series Power.

Will Smith will next be seen in the con man thriller Focus, which hits theaters February 27, and the Christmas Day release Concussion. This spring he will start production on Warner Bros.' highly-anticipated superhero ensemble Suicide Squad, where he plays Deadshot.