Will Smith's Son Is the Next Karate Kid

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Having portrayed the son of a struggling salesman in "The Pursuit of Happyness", Jaden Smith will next play a martial arts practitioner. According to Variety, the son of Hollywood superstar Will Smith has been tapped to star in "Untitled Karate Kid Remake", a "refashioned" remake of 1984 hit martial arts movie "The Karate Kid".

The remake project will have Jerry Weintraub and Overbrook Entertainment's James Lassiter, Will and Ken Stovitz as the new film's producers. Its script is being worked on by Chris Murphy, while the movie itself is scheduled to be shot in Beijing and other cities in 2009. It is said that the story will keep its essential plot elements, a bullied teenager learning to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.

The original "Karate Kid" stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita and Elisabeth Shue. Telling an underdog story in which Daniel LaRusso is being trained by Mr. Miyagi to defend himself using karate, it received commercial success, spawning three other sequels, the last of which helps to launch Hilary Swank's career in movie biz.