If After Earth should have taught Will Smith anything, it’s that the American movie-going audience just isn’t that into Jaden Smith, no matter how much money he spends buying his son a film career. It also should have taught Jaden that 14-year-olds are not the wizened philosophers he thinks they are, but that’s beside the point. The point is, Jaden is going to give this acting thing another try with a second Karate Kid movie, so you can all look forward to not watching that one too. Deadline reports …
Sony Pictures has locked Breck Eisner to direct Karate Kid 2, the sequel that will bring back Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. Harald Zwart directed the 2010 original, which grossed $56 million on its opening weekend and ended with $343 million worldwide. Eisner, repped by CAA and Management 360, most recently directed the gritty horror film The Crazies. It is an important film for the studio that has placed a premium in the care and feeding of franchises with global appeal. The original 1984 Karate Kid is a beloved film, but let’s face it, that crane deal at the end would never have worked, and this kid is way more believable as a martial artist.
Except that was the whole point of the original Karate Kid movie! Daniel was supposed to be some gawky looking dweeb who hunkers down, works hard and overcomes the greatest threat known to man: 80’s teenage movie bullies. Seriously, those guys are evil manifested. Anyway, it’s just a little hard to take Jaden seriously as the “overcoming adversity” kid is what I’m saying.