Independence Day star Will Smith, 42, and his son, Karate Kid star, Jaden, 12, have signed on to star in a new sci-fi action-adventure film to be directed by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, The Last Airbender), with a working title of One Thousand A.E., reports Deadline.
Having shared the screen in the 2006 drama The Pursuit of Happyness, this time Will and Jaden Smith will team up for an action flick. The story is set 1,000 years into the future, and centers on a young boy who navigates an abandoned and sometimes scary Earth to save himself and his estranged father after their ship crashes.
One Thousand A.E. was written by Garry Whitta, who also wrote The Book of Eli and the upcoming Kurt Russell supernatural project, Undying. The project is being developed by Will Smith’s Overbrook production company as a vehicle for his son.
Considering how far M. Night Shyamalan’s star has fallen these days, the filmmaker has had a fairly decent year overall. Although The Last Airbender was slaughtered by critics, it did solid business at the box office, and the first entry in his Night Chronicles series, Devil, has already paid for itself.
In the meantime, Will Smith is filming Men in Black III due in theaters May 25, 2012. Jaden also has a project in development, Amulet, in which he is reportedly stars alongside his sister, Willow.