M. Night Shyamalan‘s After Earth, his in-development follow-up to the universally panned The Last Airbender, sounds rather iffy, but as we previously mentioned, with Stephen Gaghan‘s (Oscar-winner for Traffic) on-the-page contribution, there’s certainly room for intrigue, despite the vast disappointment of Shyamalan‘s recent output. (Though I’d personally argue that Devil, which credits Shyamalan as a story developer, is actually quite good fun.)
Isabelle Fuhrman, who’s set to appear in The Hunger Games as “Clove,” a name that will probably mean much more to devotees of the books than it does to me, is the latest to join the cast of Shyamalan‘s post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure. Fuhrman is quickly making a name for herself, having recently starred in the successful horror-thriller Orphan alongside Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard. Her upcoming 2012 slate, in addition, also includes Giorgio Serafini‘s The Healer, of which I know nothing other than the fact that it is the on-screen follow-up for Joel Courtney, the highly appealing lead of J.J. Abrams‘ Super 8. [THR]
After Earth, whose cast also includes the father-son duo of Will and Jaden Smith, as well as Zoë Kravitz and Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda, Skin), is slotted for a release date of June 7, 2013. That’s a ways away, still, and, in my opinion, it’d probably be best for Shyamalan if word on the production was kept to a lower key. The project likely has a significant budget, so I understand producer-types wanting to get the word out, but from a quality standpoint, I think it’d be best for the film if expectations were kept to a minimum.
Does this casting impact your anticipation of After Earth?