Although not credited on the finished film, co-writer/producer Will Smith was responsible for much of the movie's direction. M. Night Shyamalan was primarily in charge of the blocking (composition of shots, placement of the camera) and the visual aspects of the film (color and design), and had actually suggested Smith for the supporting role as the father, but it was Smith who dictated the development of the story (which he originally conceived) and the on-screen action, and personally coached his own son Jaden Smith in his performance. Although both the story and acting were heavily criticized and Shyamalan decided to take the blame, Smith later shared his deep regret for involving his son in the movie: the press had released a vicious barrage of negative commentary aimed at Jayden, which hit the boy hard since he had only followed his father's instructions. Will added that Jayden understandably felt betrayed and misled for a while, and once even requested to be emancipated from his parents at age 15. He eventually decided against it.

Cypher warns his son about Earth: "Everything on this planet has evolved to kill humans". Except that, in the movie, humans had abandoned Earth one thousand years before, so it makes absolutely no sense that any predator would "evolve" to hunt a prey that has been absent from its ecosystem for a whole millennium. That's exactly the opposite of how evolution works.

The first part of the closing credits show a CGI globe view of the future altered Earth. There have been massive tectonic movements; South America is split in half and North Africa is connected to the East Coast of North America.

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