FAQ for
Hancock (2008) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags are used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Hancock can be found here.

Neither. Hancock is not based on a previously established comic book. The screenwriter Vincent Ngo wrote the script, originally titled Tonight, He Comes, in 1996, but it got passed around from director to director until Peter Berg took it over in October of 2006. After several rewrites and a change of title, Hancock finally began filming in July of 2007.

No, Hancock (Will Smith) is not an alien. He's described in the film as one of the last survivors of an ancient race that died out because they had the unfortunate tendency to become mortal when near each other for long.

Some viewers claim that Mary Embrey (Charlize Theron) is the villain. Others name Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) as the villain. The most obvious villains are a trio of escaped convicts--Red (Eddie Marsan), Mountain (David Mattey), and Matrix (Maetrix Fitten)--who hold a grudge against Hancock for putting them behind bars. However, part of the subversion of the genre that Hancock engages in is that Hancock is the true villain of the piece, as well as the hero. The person he truly has to fight is himself; the person who causes all the troubles in his life is himself; the person who perpetuates the cycles of violence in his life is himself. Since the film turns the idea of a Hero on its head, as well as the idea of a Villain, it's very hard to assign the role to any one character.

When the people are running away from the tornadoes, suddenly a strange character runs from the left to the right of the screen. The character is about twice as tall as everyone else, and looks like a robot. It's a street performer, on stilts and in costume.

You can view a photo of it here and here.

You can watch a video of it in the movie here and here.

No, but there is a scene that plays over the credits.

Prior to the theatrical release it was announced that the film had to be cut in order to achieve the PG 13-rating by the MPAA. Today, two versions of the film are available. The theatrical version and an Extended Cut that offers more than 9 minutes of additional material. A detailed comparison between both versions can be found here.