Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan redo The Karate Kid

Jaden Smith is really turning out to be quote they superstar. After finishing the film with his father, and then showing up Keanu Reeves in The Day The Earth Stood Still (hard not to show up that fiasco of acting), he is now out in China with Jackie Chan. That’s a pretty impressive summer job he has for himself.

Considering his age, and the general trends of Hollywood, it’s impressive to see that he is growing in his abilities and that directors are taking notice. The only real shame is that so far he has not really been in a huge success. Yes the films with Reeves and his dad made money. But they are not big hits.

The latest film, Kung Fu Kid, is a revisioning of The Karate Kid. While I generally despise revisioned films, the inclusion of Jackie Chan makes this interesting. It will take place in Bejing, is current day, and will emphasize the abilities of Jaden. This very well could be a huge hit for this young actor.

Of course the fact that his father is one of the producers, plus the fame of Chan, and then add in the nostalgia for the original, and you have a film that should definitely be a hit. Except there is one hitch in the film. The director.

That would be Harald Zwart. He was responsible for the flops One Night At McCool’s and the revisioned refuse Pink Panther 2. The only other film he has done that you might know internationally is Agent Cody Banks, which was decent but no blockbuster.

How this director was attached to this project is unknown to me, but likely the only thing that could cause the film to be worthless. Well that and writer’s that have no clue what made the original worth watching.

If this does turn out to be a hit film, I think that Jaden will be well on his way to a career that will exceed his father. Considering that Will Smith is familiar with working his way to the top, has had the experience of losing it all, and knows the fickle nature of critics and fans I expect that Jaden will be well prepared for added fame. This is one child actor that should never see the front page of a tabloid – except for any woman he might date.

If this film fails though, I expect that it will be the fault of the director. Based on his trend, this is an uphill battle. Still a bit of failure may be just the thing to keep his head from getting bigger than his britches. In fact I think that every child star should have some degree of failure to help balance out their expectations. Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan are great examples of the potential if they don’t.

The film will be out in 2010 I expect. So there should not be too much time for speculation. Either way I think it will be another step forward for Jaden Smith. Hopefully it will be just the thing for his 12th birthday.