The 2007 sci-fi thriller movie I Am Legend is loosely based on Richard Matheson’s novel of the same name. It follows the struggle of scientist Robert Neville in the ruins of New York City in his attempt to find a cure for a vampirism epidemic. Neville, portrayed by Will Smith, spends a good length of the film’s duration without any human encounter. But he finds a true companion in a German Shepherd named Sam. Check out everything about I Am Legend 2 now!
Neville thinks he is the last human alive in the world, and following the tragic death of his beloved pet, he goes on a rampage in what appears to be a suicide mission and attacks a group of vampires. Outnumbered and out-powered, he is rescued surprisingly by another human. His unlikely savior is Anna from Maryland. She is traveling with her young son, Ethan, to Vermont in search of a survivors’ camp when she bumps into Neville.
I Am Legend controversially offers two endings:
· the theatrical ending depicts Robert Neville as sacrificing himself in an explosion to save Anna and Ethan when hordes of vampires get him cornered in his basement laboratory.
· the alternate ending, included in the 2008 two-disc special edition release, offers a more positive conclusion in which Neville, Anna, and Ethan are going to Vermont together.
After more than 14 years since its release in December 2007, the development for I Am Legend 2 has already started. It will likely serve as a direct sequel. There is no word yet about a release date, and the plotline remains a closely-guarded secret at this point. That said, few details have been made public.
Will Smith is Back
Over the years, Will Smith has shown a reluctance to reprise his role as Robert Neville in the sequel. Back in 2012 during a promotion tour for MIB 3, he hinted that involvement in an I Am Legend follow-up would be quite a stretch. Smith said the producers were working on it and at the time he was not part of the development. However, he was willing to change his mind given the proposed idea turned out to be good enough.
One of the main reasons he declined working on the second film was the notion of being in a sequel only for the sake of it. Now things have changed. At the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in March 2022, Smith admitted he had considered leaving the offer for a sequel, but then he decided to come back upon hearing a more detailed concept.
Michael B. Jordan Comes Along
Smith gave another important detail, saying that Michael B. Jordan was part of the idea. I Am Legend 2 will be the first major feature for them to work on together. Not only are they starring in the film, but producing it as well. Since the plot is still shrouded in secrecy, no one outside the core production team knows about Jordan’s character.
Director of the original, Francis Lawrence, is not attached to the sequel project. Lawrence believed I Am Legend was supposed to be about the last man on Earth, and so the theatrical ending did its purpose well. Because Robert Neville died at the end, a sequel seemed like a bad idea until the alternate version surfaced. Lawrence is not involved, but Warner Bros. is bringing back Akiva Goldsman—who wrote the screenplay adaptation for the original film—to the sequel project.
According to Lawrence and based on his conversation with Goldsman, the ideation process for the sequel is still pretty much in the brainstorming phase. He thinks at this point the project has a long way to go until everything comes together and actually resembles a follow-up. Without any name attached to the director’s seat, it is safe to assume I Am Legend 2 will not finish production anytime soon. It will not hit theaters this year, but perhaps the next. Both Lawrence and Goldsman are also working together on an upcoming sequel to Constantine.
Question on Continuity
If Robert Neville is set to return in the sequel and does have a major role again, the theatrical ending can be quite a problem from a narrative standpoint. In such a case, the sequel has to rely on everyone getting familiar with the alternate version and ignoring the inconvenient theatrical cut altogether. It is a good thing no one knows what the plotline is for the sequel; the events might be set during the same time as the original but in a different location, and there might be a strange time jump or an unlikely connection between Neville and Jordan’s character. Otherwise, there has to be some magical plot wizardry to reanimate a dead character. Robert Neville may even come back as one of the undead, which will render the alternate ending pointless.
Warner Bros. has not yet given any confirmation about the director. It is possible (although not probable) that the studio may give the job to Lawrence, which can undoubtedly deliver a true sense of continuity. Since the announcement for the sequel came up, not much has been said about the development. Everything is mere speculation, but I Am Legend 2 is certainly a work-in-progress despite all the development standstill, potentially complicated storyline continuity, and of course, the infamous Will Smith – Chris Rock slapping incident at the Oscars.
We’re hoping for a sequel where Will Smith’s character survives, but it must be brilliantly written or the whole thing could tank. Are you hoping for a sequel? Let us know. We’d love to hear from you.
Other things you might want to know about.
What other movies have changed the plot line due to a test audience?
According to denofgreek.com, there have been over 30 movies that have changed because of a test audience.
- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
- Army of Darkness (1992)
- Blade Runner (1982)
- Brazil (1985)
- Clerks (1994)
- Deep Blue Sea (1999)
- The Descent (2005)
- Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
- Election (1999)
- Escape Room (2019)
- Final Destination (2000)
- Fatal Attraction (1987)
- First Blood (1982)
- Freddy vs Jason (2003)
- I Am Legend (2007)
- The Invasion (2007)
- Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
- Layer Cake (2004)
- Limitless (2011)
- Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
- Misery (1990)
- Pretty in Pink (1986)
- Pride and Prejudice (2005)
- Seven (1995)
- The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
- Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)
- Snake Eyes (1997)
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1980)
- Titanic (1997)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- 28 Days Later (2002)
- WALLL-E (2008)
Go to denofgeek.com to read more about the original endings and how they were changed. The article is called 32 Movie Endings that were Changed by Test Screening by Mark Harrison.
Movies of Michael B Jordan
Michael B Jordan has been linked to being in the sequel of I Am Legend 2 with Will Smith. Here are 12 of his best-ranked movies. (slashfilm.com )
12. Fantastic Four
11. That Awkward Moment
10. Blackout
9. A Journal for Jordan
8. Pastor Brown
7. Without Remorse
6. Hardball
5. Creed II
4. Just Mercy
3. Black Panther
2. Creed
1. Fruitvale Station
Go to slashfilm.com to read more information about each of these films.
What do we know about Akita Goldman?
Akita Goldman has been linked to being the director for I am Legend 2 which is now in pre-production or maybe even production. Things are very secretive about the movies at this point. Here are some movies and shows that Goldman has been involved with. (memory-alpha.fandom.com)
Goldman was born in 1962 and is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. He has been heavily involved in the Star Trek world being an executive producer on the first season of Star Trek: Discovery and a consulting producer on the second season. He was also the executive producer of Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
He also wrote and directed episodes of Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard. He has made cameo appearances on some Star Trek shows.
He won an Oscar for writing the screenplay of the 2001 film, A Beautiful Mind. One of his first screenwriting projects was the 1994 film adaptation of The Client (John Grisham). He also adapted another Grisham novel for A Time to Kill. He wrote the screenplay for two Batman films, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin.
He has worked with Ron Howard on Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man. He continued with screenplays for The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons (Dan Brown). He has written two screenplays starring Will Smith; I Robot and I am Legend.
Go to memory-alpha.fandom.com for more details about Akita Goldman.
