Will Smith turns fear, extremes, sustainability into story at 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai

Will Smith has revealed new details about his upcoming pole-to-pole documentary, a seven-episode series filmed over the past two years that follows his journey from South to North Pole through some of the most extreme climates on Earth.

Set to premiere on Jan.14 on Disney and National Geographic, the series documents the American actor skiing across polar ice, scuba diving under the frozen sea at the North Pole, exploring deep jungles and deserts, climbing mountains, and venturing into unexplored caves with experts in venomous creatures.

"It was terrifying at times, but beautiful,” Smith said while speaking at a session during the 1 Billion Followers Summit 2026 in Dubai, where he described moments of diving beneath Arctic ice and extracting venom from a rare spider to demonstrate how cures can emerge from the heart of danger.

"From your darkest difficulty, right in the centre of the pain, is where the cure lives,” he said, adding that fear is the greatest barrier to human potential.

"If you are scared, you can not really enjoy this world. Fear is the greatest enemy of our wildest dreams,” he told the audience, adding that the journey taught him how to manage his mind in moments of absolute terror.

Calling the series "heart-warming” and sustainable for family viewing, Smith said the expedition became a journey of self-discovery, shaped by scientists, explorers and local communities he met along the edge of the planet.

"The solution to many of Earth’s problems is there at the edges,” he added.

The session brought Smith together on stage with Faris Saeed, the visionary behind Dubai’s Sustainable City.

Smith praised the project after touring it during his visit to the UAE, calling it "a hidden gem in Dubai” and "a community awake to the idea of helping each other.”

Saeed said Smith’s visit created excitement across the community, describing him as warm and approachable.

Looking ahead, Saeed revealed plans for Sustainable City 2.0, a next-generation model designed for a post-AI era.

Quoting Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Saeed said: "The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it and build it.”

He added that while many fear what lies ahead, the future will instead create more time and resources, allowing cities to be built around human connection.

"In Sustainable City 2.0, social life is the core,” Saeed said. "Sports, arts, culture and debate will shape everyday living.”

The 1 Billion Followers Summit 2026, organized by the UAE Government Media Office and hosted by the UAE from Jan. 9 to 11, across Emirates Towers, DIFC, and the Museum of the Future in Dubai, under the theme "Content for Good.”

WAM