Things are moving forward a bit more with M. Night Shyamalan’s next feature, 1000 A.E., as it looks like Zoe Kravitz is in talks to play the daughter in the film while Sophie Okonedo is in talks to take on the mother role that will go alongside Will Smith as the lead/father in addition to son Jaden being in the feature. It’s almost amusing because you’re at that tipping point where you’d rather see the strange on screen dynamic that would occur by really making it a family feature by bringing in both Jada and Willow to take on the roles rather than cast them with others. The feature is expected to go into production in early 2012. The title appears to have gone through a change at one point and is supposedly also called After Earth, but most resources are still listing it as 1000 A.E.
As for the inevitable question of how Shyamalan can get another big budget feature after The Last Airbender, people will need to realize that that particular film had a budget of $150 million (conservatively) but still brought in just under $400 million worldwide in theaters before any home video and after market distribution. Even the wildly derided The Happening did well on its budget of $60 million by bringing in $163 million worldwide. The last feature of his that was well received critically was Signs but The Sixth Sense is still his best received feature, both critically and via moviegoers.
Plot concept: The story of 1000 A.E. involves the father and son team crash-landing on an inhospitable future Earth, in which the failed-warrior son must rescue the heroic father.
