'After Earth' Premiere Rushed to Avoid 'Man of Steel'

In an effort to avoid conflicting with the hotly anticipated “Man of Steel,” starring Henry Cavill, M. Night Shyamalan’s futuristic sci-fi epic “After Earth” will be released earlier than expected.

The film, which stars Will Smith and son Jaden Smith, was originally set to release on June 7^th, but will now hit theaters a bit earlier, on May 31^st.

It would have opened with competition from the Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson comedy “The Internship, but the move gives that flick its own weekend opening. “After Earth” will open alongside “Now You See Me” instead.

“The Purge” was intended to air that weekend, but in an opposite move, Universal pushed the premiere back to the now vacant spot on June 7^th. The film, which features Ethan Hawke, follows a world where crime is legalized one day a year.

The move will also give “After Earth” two weeks of play rather than just one before Warner Bros. “Man of Steel” hits on June 14^th.

The film will be playing during the second weekend of “The Hangover Part III” and “Fast and Furious 6,” however. Both films open Memorial Day, and may cause some serious conflict for “After Earth.”

The movie follows Smith and Little Smith as a father and son Cypher and Kitai Raige, who crash-land on Earth 1,000 years after the planet has been destroyed. With Cypher injured, Kitai embarks on a journey to signal for help.

The screenplay was developed based off of a story by Will Smith. It is the first time in 20 years that Shyamalan has accepted a project written by another. Smith personally hired the director.