If you expected Jaden Smith to spend his entire career starring in feel-good movies like the Karate Kid, this will come as a bit of a shock. According to Deadline, Smith has signed a deal to star in an adaptation of The Good Lord Bird, alongside Liev Schreiber. In the movie, Smith will play a young slave named Henry “Onion” Shackleford who befriends abolitionist John Brown, played by Schreiber. According to the site:
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This all sounds very unlike a member of the Smith family, but the movie is an adaptation of the critically-acclaimed book by James McBride. So despite Smith playing a cross-dressing slave, it sounds like The Good Lord Bird is going to have real gravitas to it. Fans of Smith’s more family friendly roles will take solace that he will also return for a Karate Kid sequel as well.
[via Deadline]
