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16th Feb 2023

I Am Legend sequel starring original cast officially in the works

Jack Peat

Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan will return for another apocalyptic thriller

A sequel to the Hollywood blockbuster I Am Legend is officially in the works, producer Akiva Goldsman has confirmed.

Speaking to Deadline, she revealed the second film will “trace back to the original [Richard] Matheson book” and will explore the after-effects of the film’s alternate ending, where Will Smith’s character doesn’t die.

At the end of the original film, Dr. Robert Neville, played by Smith, decides to sacrifice himself in order to save Anna (Alice Braga) and Ethan (Charlie Tahan).

Dr Neville manages to find a cure just in time and lets Anna and Ethan deliver it to authorities to end the infection apocalypse.

However, there was an alternate ending on the DVD that shows Smith’s character not killing himself along with the Darkseekers.

He has a moment with the alpha male and realises they see him as the villain due to his years of research on them.

According to Goldsmith, this is the premise for the new film.

“This [sequel] will start a few decades later than the first,” he said.

“I’m obsessed with The Last of Us, where we see the world just post-apocalypse but also after a 20-30-year lapse.”

“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,” he said.

“I don’t know if they’ll climb up to the Empire State building, but the possibilities are endless.”

Fans certainly lapped up the 2007 film, with the movie taking home a massive USD$585 million (AUD$847 million, £486 million) worldwide.

Goldsman wasn’t able to elaborate more on the I Am Legend sequel, but he did have more juicy gossip up his sleeve that he was willing to share.

He confirmed that fans will get a sequel to Constantine, starring Keanu Reeves, as part of the producer’s triumphant return to Warner Bros. Pictures.

“We’re starting with … the sequel to Constantine with Keanu Reeves that Francis Lawrence is going to direct,” he said, as per Deadline.

“We’re doing it with JJ Abrams, and Francis and Keanu and I have been pretty deep in the story breaking stage.”

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