In what has to be some of the best movie news in recent memory, “I Am Legend” is getting a sequel, with Will Smith returning and being joined by Michael B Jordan. The 2007 post-apocalyptic movie has remained popular in the years since its release, leading filmmaker Akiva Goldsman to pitch a follow-up.
“I Am Legend” had an alternate ending
If you’re wondering how Will Smith can be in the sequel given that he died in the original movie, you’re not alone.
In case you forgot, his character, Dr. Robert Neville, finally figures out a cure to the zombie plague that’s basically killed wiped out civilization. However, he dies in the process. You might assume that the follow-up movie would only feature Smith in flashback scenes, but you’d be wrong.
As it turns out, “I Am Legend” had an alternate ending that was available on the DVD of the movie even though it never made it to the big screen. In that version, Neville stays alive and travels to Vermont to distribute the cure.
What can we expect from the “I Am Legend” sequel?
It’s hard to say just yet. However, in an interview with Deadline published on February 15, Goldsman said that the second movie will stick close to the plot in the book that inspired it. Richard Matheson wrote the story all the way back in 1954, and it’s just as terrifying today as it was then (if not more so!).
“I’m obsessed with ‘The Last of Us,’ where we see the world just post-apocalypse but also after a 20-30-year lapse,” Goldsman explained. “You see how the earth reclaims the world, and there’s something beautiful in the question of, as man steps away from being the primary tenant, what happens?”
He added: “We trace back to the original Matheson book, and the alternate ending as opposed to the released ending in the original film. What Matheson was talking about was that man’s time on the planet as the dominant species had come to an end. That’s a really interesting thing we’re going to get to explore. There will be a little more fidelity to the original text.”
As for what Michael B Jordan’s role in the “I Am Legend” sequel will be, Goldsman is remaining tight-lipped. Guess we’ll have to wait and find out.
