You can almost hear the running monologue in the studio executive’s head? “Will Smith is box office catnip. Can we get Will Smith? No. Can we clone Will Smith? Not yet, at least. What’s the closest thing we can get to Will Smith? Eddie Murphy? No, too controversial. What about a miniature Will Smith? What about… Will Smith’s kid?”

And thus we have Jaden Smith, child of Will Smith and co-star of 2006’s The Pursuit of Happyness, joining the cast of The Day The Earth Stood Still, in a new role written for the remake. The Hollywood Reporter says he’ll play the 8-year old son of Jennifer Connelly’s character, who is the first person on Earth to make contact with the mysterious alien Klaatu (Keanu Reeves). I’ve already made jokes about Reeves playing a humanoid alien, but really, is there any way to stop making these jokes until the movie comes out?

It’s somewhat interesting that they’re making the mildly controversial choice to show a white woman with a black stepson, but otherwise Jaden seems like a logical casting choice for what’s bound to be a huge-budget movie. His dad ruled last December with a sci-fi movie, so why shouldn’t Smith the Younger be able to do the same?