Seems we are not done with getting sequels to series we thought were done, but at least this one is less than 20 years old. The money machine known as Men in Black is planning its return with a third chapter.

Cinematical shares:

there were no further announcements as far as cast and release date, however Sony probably wouldn’t launch another Men in Black film without at least Will Smith’s participation. Will Tommy Lee Jones reprise his role, too, or will Smith get himself a new partner in crime?

I always liked the clever casting of agents who are supposed to be unmemorable having generic names like Smith and Jones. (more…)

Jackie Chan told a film Web site that his forthcoming update of the “Karate Kid,” from producer Will Smith, will carry a different name in order to avoid unfair comparisons to the original.

“They don’t want to call it ‘Karate Kid’ any more,” Chan told FirstShowing.com. “They want to call it ‘The Kung Fu Kid.’”

The Web site said further, “[Chan] quickly changed topics and unfortunately didn’t add any more as to why this change was being made. (more…)

Will Smith gave Ralph Macchio quite the surprise recently, calling the Karate Kid star out of the blue to talk about his remake of the 1984 film. Smith’s a producer on the updated kickfest, and his son Jaden is set to star.

“It was very cool,” Macchio tells E! News. “He called and said, ‘Would you mind getting on the phone with my son?’ I felt like Yoda to young Skywalker.”

The original Daniel-san, who currently has a guest spot on ABC’s Ugly Betty, said Jaden was “adorable and completely respectful and excited. I just told him to have fun. That was my advice.” (more…)

Jackie Chan soon could be mentoring a karate kid.

The action hero is in negotiations to star in Columbia’s remake of “The Karate Kid.” He would take on the role of mentor Mr. Miyagi, made famous by Pat Morita in the original franchise.

Jaden Smith, son of actor Will Smith, would play Miyagi’s young protege, a role originally played by Ralph Macchio. The studio also has signed Harald Zwart (“Agent Cody Banks”) to direct the picture, which possibly will begin shooting this year in Beijing. (more…)

Will Smith normally appears in action films that feature aliens and big explosions, but with his son Jaden’s forthcoming starring role in a remake of the ‘Karate Kid’, the whole family may soon become synonymous with martial arts as well.

Though Smith Jr. is locked in for the Ralph Macchio role, a key character is yet to be cast, that of Daniel’s wise sensei. “We don’t have a Mr. Miyagi yet,” Smith told MTV News. “There’s a couple of people that we’re really intrigued by, but I don’t want to say any names because I’ll be in trouble.” (more…)

Sequels, sequels, sequels. That’s the way of movie making today and actor Will Smith has many films that lend themselves to more storytelling.

IESB caught up with Smith during the press day for his new film SEVEN POUNDS co-starring Rosario Dawson out from Columbia Pictures December 19.

During the interview, Smith talked about sequels to I AM LEGEND, HANCOCK and answers the question “whatever happened to that ID4 sequel?” (more…)

My favorite parts of I Am Legend were by far the ones the showcased the destroyed city, whether the flashback scenes of mass panic or the many shots of Will Smith and his dog wandering the lonely, overgrown streets. What can I say– I’m a sucker for disaster movies, and since it’s been a while since Roland Emmerich made one, it was the best we had. Now it looks like I’ll be getting even more of the good stuff in the still-in-development prequel to I Am Legend, which Will Smith opened up about during a press junket for Seven Pounds.

Collider reported on the roundtable, where Smith told them that in the next film, “D.C. and then Manhattan would fall as the last city. It’s a really cool idea trying to figure it out–there’s a reason why we have to take a small band and we have to get into D.C. So we have to make our way from New York to D.C. and then back to New York. ” (more…)

It’s official now: Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are remaking Chan-Wook Park’s, “Oldboy.” Film School Rejects caught up with Smith, who confirmed that he was starring in the film, but was quick to dismiss the claims and complaints that he and Spielberg were remaking Park’s film.

“We’re looking at that right now. Not the film though, it’s the original source material,” said Smith. “There’s the original comics of ‘Oldboy’ that they made the first film from. And that’s what we’re working from, not an adaptation of the film.” (more…)

It either says a lot about Will Smith or my gullibility that I’m looking forward to his next movie, even though I really have no idea what it’s about. All I can figure out about Seven Pounds, based on the trailer below, is that Will Smith plays a guy whose life is a mess despite the fact that he has a ton of money, and who apparently decides to start using that money to change the lives of unsuspecting strangers. One of those people turns out to be Rosario Dawson, and, well, because she’s Rosario Dawson and he’s Will Smith, the two fall in love.

And yet, I’m intrigued. Maybe that’s the point of leaving most of the plot description out of the trailer, to let us get excited and speculating on our own. If it worked for me, it’ll almost definitely work for some others out there too. Seven Pounds comes out December 19.

He will survive…again. Probably to the chagrin of any movies aiming to open on Independence Day.

Warner Bros. is ramping up development on a prequel to the 2007 smash I Am Legend, which will see Will Smith reprising his role as one of the lone survivors on a zombified Earth.

Director Francis Lawrence is expected to take the reins again in the story of how New Yorkers came to be stricken by a deadly plague that turned them into nocturnal, blood-sucking creatures.

I Am Legend raked in $256 million domestically but [spoiler alert!] didn’t really set up a Smith-starring sequel, prompting studio executives to start brainstorming other ways to keep the lucre flowing.
Source: E! Online