What smells like money and workout sweat? According to the LA Times Hero Complex Blog, that smell is probably New Moon star Taylor Lautner’s potential next project: Max Steel. The film will chronicle the adventures of a 19-year old extreme athlete who accidentally becomes a nano-technologically enhanced secret agent. Max Steel might sound familiar because:

A.  It is a cheap “James Bond Jr.” knock off…which is already a cheap James Bond Knock off.

B.  It was originally a semi successful late 90s early 2000s CG animated show (ala “Beast Wars” or “Reboot”) and ongoing toy line. See here.

Despite never catching on huge in the US, Max Steel is apparently more popular around the world. The writers on the project, J.P. Lavin and Chad Damiani, are also writing the script for Brett Ratner’s Youngblood adaptation. I’m a little surprised Paramount is dusting off this franchise for a film. XXX came out recently enough and said just about all there is to be said about extreme athlete secret agents. The chances of this being any good at all are pretty slim but at least it is another point for those on Team Jacob.

Your thoughts?