EXCLUSIVE: M. Night Shyamalan’s New Project is ‘One Thousand A.E.’

M. Night Shyamalan is in town this week, working on putting together his next directorial effort which will see him working with Will Smith.

But it won’t be the secret untitled project he shopped around in June. That script, which came with Bruce Willis, Bradley Cooper and Gwyneth Paltrow loosely attached, was quietly shelved despite a couple of offers as Shyamalan began toying with something new.

That’s not to say Shyamalan has lost his love for secrecy — sources are saying Shyamalan is developing an ultra clandestine sci-fi project titled One Thousand A. E., being developed at Overbrook, the production company Smith runs with James Lassiter, Ken Stovitz and Jada Pinkett Smith. And unlike most of Shyamalan’s oeuvre, to which his most recent film The Last Airbender is an exception, A.E. is not written by Shyamalan.

That honor goes to Gary Whitta, who wrote The Book of Eli and Undying, his in-development Kurt Russell project.

Plot details are under lock and key although it is known that A.E. is being developed as a vehicle for Jaden Smith. There is a starring role for an adult male, although sources said Will Smith is not taking it on.

A.E. has no studio home yet although Overbrook has a first-look deal with Sony, which will likely be its home.