Turn off the Lights

Jaden Smith Might Be ‘Boy Nobody’ for Sony

Sony Pictures pulled in over $350 million for its Jaden Smith-led remake of The Karate Kid. Naturally, the studio wants to continue its relationship: he’s currently filming the M. Night Shyamalan science-fiction feature After Earth with his Oscar-nominated father, Will Smith, and he might find himself leading yet another property.

Variety reports that Sony, along with Overbrook Entertainment, is currently negotiating for the rights to Boy Nobody, an Allen Zadoff novel that will be published next spring, and the studio plans for Smith to lead the film as a brainwashed assassin.



The young-adult novel marks the beginning of a planned trilogy centering on (in Zadoff’s own words) a "young soldier trained not to feel; who could function in every situation without fear, sympathy or anger; who could assassinate strangers and then walk away emotionally unscathed."

Several publications, such as Collider and /Film, discussed this development as possibly having a Jason-Bourne-for-teens vibe, though they also express skepticism that this could be more akin to the failed action vehicle for Taylor Lautner, Abduction. It is worth noting that this is in no way a done deal, but Sony clearly has high hopes for Smith, so expect this deal to go through without a hitch (Will Smith pun intended).

Comments

Meet the Author

Follow Us