I AM LEGEND Star Will Smith Reveals New Story Details And Confirms He'll Share Screen With Michael B. Jordan

I AM LEGEND Star Will Smith Reveals New Story Details And Confirms He'll Share Screen With Michael B. Jordan

We've been hearing chatter about the I Am Legend sequel for months, but Will Smith himself has today shared an update about which of the first movie's endings will be canon and Michael B. Jordan's role.

By JoshWilding - Dec 05, 2023 05:12 AM EST
Filed Under: Sci-Fi
Source: SFFGazette.com

I Am Legend, directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith, concluded with Dr. Robert Neville using a grenade to sacrifice himself during a final confrontation with the movie's infected humans. He did so to help a woman and her son reach safety, but the alternate ending is typically considered superior among both fans and the movie's creative team.

In that scene (which was hidden away on the DVD), Neville realizes that the infected, now led by a more intelligent and empathetic creature, are not as monstrous as he thought. Their leader communicates that they only want to retrieve the female that Neville has been experimenting on to find a cure, making him realise he has become the true monster in their eyes.

He hands her over and they leave peacefully; Neville then travels to a human sanctuary while coming to terms with the fact he was the "legend" that haunted the infected beings, and that they were not the mindless monsters he believed them to be.

It's a more nuanced and thought-provoking conclusion, and one we've heard will be considered canon in the long-planned sequel. During an appearance at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia (via SFFGazette.com), Smith confirmed the alternate ending will be used as a basis for the follow-up. 

"I have a call with Michael B. Jordan tomorrow," the Suicide Squad star revealed. "The script just came in. I’m probably giving away too much information. We’re going with the mythology of the DVD version where my character lived."

"I can’t tell you any more," Smith continued, "but Michael B. Jordan is in and we’re doing it."

We'd bet on Jordan playing Smith's son in the movie, especially as writer Akiva Goldsman has previously said, "This will start a few decades later than the first...I’m obsessed with The Last of Us, where we see the world just post-apocalypse but also after a 20-30-year lapse. We trace back to the original Matheson book, and the alternate ending as opposed to the released ending in the original film."

Nothing more concrete than that has been revealed, though we expect Lawrence to shoot the sequel before BioShock and Keanu Reeves' Constantine 2.

Set in a desolate, virus-ravaged New York City, I Am Legend follows Dr. Robert Neville (Smith), seemingly the last human survivor, as he searches for a cure to a virus that has turned the population into aggressive, zombie-like mutants. Neville's only companions are his loyal dog and the haunting memories of the world's collapse.

As he conducts experiments in isolation, he battles loneliness, fear, and the relentless pursuit of the infected beings. The film explores themes of isolation, survival, and the consequences of scientific experimentation, culminating in a dramatic and emotional climax that questions the nature of humanity in the face of a global pandemic.

The sequel doesn't have a confirmed release date, but we'll keep you updated as we learn more.

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lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 12/5/2023, 6:00 AM
Not sure how I feel about this. The first one was above average for a zombie movie but don't know where they'd go with a sequel. I mean, the thing that is cool in the film and all of its predecessors was that Smith was the last dude on earth. I know they had a sanctuary which I'm sure will come into play more here. Just not sure. The zombie thing is kinda tiring out.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 12/5/2023, 6:14 AM
So if you didn’t see the DVD version….
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 12/5/2023, 6:54 AM
@GhostDog - you would be so confused and be like “didn’t he die at the end” like me who only has seen the theatrical

I didn’t even know it had an alternate ending.
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 12/5/2023, 6:22 AM
BOOOO. I kind of liked the ambiguity of which version was canon. I mean, I don’t care enough to get upset (since waffles don’t have any emotional states beyond joy), but I wish they’d leave it alone.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 12/5/2023, 6:34 AM


Smith is sooooo yesterday's news.

JobinJ
JobinJ - 12/5/2023, 7:00 AM
Hopefully they use prosthetics instead of cgi zombies. They looked terrible.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 12/5/2023, 7:02 AM
I kinda wish this was just a sequel with MBJ as the new lead…

Personal life stuff aside , I still like Will as an actor but I feel the direction this is going in might be confusing for the GA who mostly might have just seen the theatrical version.

Anyway , I found the first one to be decent with Smith’s performance being the highlight of course so I’m interested to see how this continues the story.

Batmangina
Batmangina - 12/5/2023, 8:00 AM
Will is going to slap MBJ while Jada talks about how hot Tupac was in voiceover
Batmangina
Batmangina - 12/5/2023, 8:01 AM
@Batmangina - OT: The pic on the right confirms that if DisMarv would have had a presser where MBJ accepted the mantle of T'Challa in honor of Chadwick Boseman, HALF of the MCU would have been saved immediately.
Blergh
Blergh - 12/5/2023, 8:09 AM
If you're sequelizing any of Smith's movies this isn't it.

Wild Wild West 2 for a campy 90s throwback; Men in Black V pairing up Hemsworth and Smith; Us, Robots as a buddy cop movie with Smith and Alan Tudyk taking out robot-racists

But this? A story in which vampire-humans have evolved beyond humanity and Smith is the actual villain of the story? Pass.
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 12/5/2023, 8:51 AM
@Blergh - I don't mind saying that I still darn enjoy Wild Wild West. One of the few, I suppose.
Blergh
Blergh - 12/5/2023, 9:14 AM
@MosquitoFarmer - You're not alone; it's bad and stupid but oozes charme.
Whenever I have a bad day or need a nice little callback to "the good ol' days" I pop it in (that or The Mummy/Van Helsing).

I'm not even much of a Will Smith fan, definitely turned a bit into a hater regarding his Scientology background but Wild Wild West is prime-Smith along with the original two MiB movies.
MG0019
MG0019 - 12/5/2023, 10:22 AM
Michael B Jordan’s agent right now, “keep my man’s name Out Your F*king Mouth!”
MartianManHuntr
MartianManHuntr - 12/5/2023, 6:08 PM
I usually don't bycott any movies because evidence/full story is never in public but in Will's case, it is different.

If he is in any movie then I'm not gonna watch it.
dracula
dracula - 12/5/2023, 8:09 PM
This is finally happening

Guess Smith needs a possible win

He hasnt had anything since the slap

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