Warner Bros. is going ahead with an I Am Legend sequel – and they’ve got two big names on board to star.
Not only is Will Smith, star of the 2007 post-apocalyptic action thriller, returning for the follow-up, Michael B. Jordan has signed up to star as well. Both Smith and Jordan are also attached to produce the picture – Smith producing with Jon Mone via their Westbrook Studios banner and Jordan with Elizabeth Raposo via their Outlier Society banner.
Deadline broke the news, reporting that while Smith and Jordan’s deals are locked in, no director has been named as yet. I Am Legend co-writer Akiva Goldsman is returning to pen the screenplay and will also be producing.
Following Deadline’s report, Smith took to social media with a frame from I Am Legend – with no caption, but tagging Jordan.
View this post on Instagram
As far as any plot details, they’re currently being kept under wraps. No word on the character Jordan will be playing… or how exactly Smith will be returning as Robert Neville, assuming he’s reprising his role from the first film.
The first film (spoilers) ended with Neville grabbing a grenade and sacrificing himself in order to take out the Darkseekers and save the cure. If we stick with that ending, then perhaps Neville could be returning in flashback form? Or, maybe he didn’t really die in that explosion? OR… I Am Legend‘s alternate ending, which was included in the film’s DVD extras, is now canon.
With a finale that’s a little more in line with the ending of the source material (Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name), the alternate ending had Neville returning the female Darkseeker to the alpha male, who forgives him and leaves with the pack. It also showed that Neville was actually the bad guy in the eyes of the infected. You can take a look at the two endings below.
Directed by Francis Lawrence (Hunger Games franchise, Constantine), I Am Legend received mixed-to-positive reviews upon release and performed well at the box office, topping $US585 million from a budget of around $US150 million.
Stay tuned as the sequel comes together…
Get SCREEN REALM’s weekly updates!
