I Am Legend – People used books, movies, and TV shows to pass the time during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
I Am Legend, a 2007 film starring Will Smith, was one of the media titles that was discussed the most.
There was a lot of misunderstanding due to the movie’s dual finale.
Although the theatrical conclusion seemed to indicate that it was a solo project, the alternate ending increased hopes for a sequel.
Opinions on which version was the true one ranged significantly.
Nevertheless, the alternate conclusion has now been acknowledged as canon because Will Smith will reprise his role as Dr. Robert Neville.
The news
Several sequel projects have been explored with the idea of casting Will Smith in the same role throughout the years.
A 2008 plan, which was later scrapped, would have shown the initial days before the infected overran New York.
A second suggestion was made, but nothing happened.
Last year, a sequel to I Am Legend was formally announced, with Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan serving as producers and actors.
Akiva Goldsman, who will write the script, is also coming back.
The first movie
The post-apocalyptic film from 2007 was loosely inspired by Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend.
A virus decimates the population in the film, leaving just Robert Neville in New York.
The virus’s original purpose was to heal cancer, but instead it turned its victims into Darkseekers, mutant vampires that come alive only at night.
Because of his immunity, Neville tries to utilize his blood to develop a cure.
Neville launches an attack on the Darkseekers after Sam, his only canine buddy, dies.
After hearing his broadcast, two immune humans named Anna and Ethan rush to his rescue.
The alpha Darkseeker that had been stalking them the previous night assaults Robert Neville’s house after he finds the cure.
Neville gives the cure to Anna and Ethan before locking them in a coal chute.
He then uses a grenade to kill both himself and the Darkseekers.
Following that, Anna and Ethan reach a camp for survivors where they provide the treatment for the troops.
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Alternate ending
The other conclusion follows the novel a little bit more closely.
The alpha draws the outline of a butterfly as the Darkseekers attack Neville’s lab, eerily similar to the butterfly tattoo on the female Darkseeker Neville had captured.
Instead of fighting, he returns the female, making the alpha look down at him and think about killing him.
But, the alpha and the remaining Darkseekers scatter.
Neville is aware that he is regarded as a monster by them.
He stops digging for a cure the next morning and joins Anna and Ethan in their search for a survivors’ colony.
Inspiration
The next sequel to I Am Legend will follow the altered finale.
The sequel will take place decades after the alternate ending, according to screenwriter Akiva Goldsman.
He also mentioned how HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us served as an inspiration.
“I’m obsessed with The Last of Us, where we see the world just post-apocalypse but also after a 20 – 30 year lapse,” said Goldsman.
“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?”
“That will be especially visual in New York. I don’t know if they’ll climb up to the Empire State Building, but the possibilities are endless.”
Goldsman chose to use the alternate ending’s storyline for the sequel in order to make things more explicit.
“What Matheson was talking about was that man’s time on the planet as the dominant species had come to an end,” said the writer.
“That’s a really interesting thing we’re going to get to explore. There will be a little more fidelity to the original text.”
I Am Legend 2 is still in its early stages of production, which is why the identity of the director remains unknown.
Image source: Screen Rant
