After Earth is a 2013 American post-apocalyptic action film co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who co-wrote the script with Gary Whitta. The film was loosely based on an original story idea by Will Smith about a father-and-son trip in the wilderness before it was eventually reworked into a sci-fi setting, taking place 1,000 years in the future where humans evacuated Earth to another planet due to a massive environmental catastrophe. It is the second film after The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) that stars real-life father and son Will and Jaden Smith; Will Smith, his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, his brother-in-law Caleeb Pinkett, and business partner James Lassiter also produced the film via their company Overbrook Entertainment while Columbia Pictures distributed the film. The film was co-produced by John Rusk, who was also the first assistant director on this film as well as on many of Shyamalan's other films.

Manoj Nelliyattu "M. Night" Shyamalan is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. His films often employ supernatural plots and twist endings. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3.3 billion globally. Shyamalan has received various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe.