Continuing the saga of the 2007 action thriller, ‘I Am Legend 2’ sees Will Smith returning to the post-apocalyptic world after the devastation.
In the film, Smith is depicted as the sole survivor in a desolate New York City, where a virus designed to cure cancer wipes out most of humanity; those not killed turn into vampire-like creatures that feed on the uninfected.
The sequel is expected to overlook the criticized ending of the first film, wherein Smith’s character, Dr. Robert Neville, sacrificed himself, instead favoring an alternate ending from the original movie where Neville survives. This alternate ending was featured in the film’s DVD release.
Here’s what we know about the upcoming sequel:
I Am Legend 2 Release Date Speculations I Am Legend 2 is still in its early development stages, and confirmation of an official release date is pending.
The sequel was officially announced in March 2022, with Akiva Goldsman, who wrote the first film, returning to write the script.
While the project had been stuck in development limbo for some time, deadlines revealed that I Am Legend 2 was progressing towards a release in February 2023. Warner Bros. re-teamed with Goldsman’s production company Weed Road in a multi-year first-look deal.
Goldsman said about the deal, “We’re starting with two projects that are both exciting and very Warner; the next installment of I Am Legend with Will and Michael B. Jordan, and a next installment of Constantine with Keanu Reeves that Francis Lawrence is going to make. Directly.”
When the original I Am Legend was released, it earned a worldwide box office of $585 million.
I Am Legend 2 Plot: What Could Happen in the Sequel? Very little is known about the story of I Am Legend 2, but we have some facts about the film’s setting and inspirations.
The sequel is expected to use the 2007 alternate ending as a launching point and depict a portrayal of the aftermath of destruction with a “20 to 30-year gap.”
Goldsman previously described the deadline for the first sequel as “starting in a decade or so from where we left off,” saying that The Last of Us was an inspiration for him.
He continued, “I am rabid about The Last of Us, where we play an entirely new Last of Us game, but we’re going to have to go pretty deep to undo the conclusions of the original math.
“Matheson was talking about that time when the dominant species on Earth was over, and that’s an interesting thing we’re going to look for. There’ll be a little more fidelity to the source material.”
Prior to the outbreak in the sequel, I Am Legend 2 was initially envisioned as a prequel, but this idea was eventually abandoned.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, director Francis Lawrence admitted he felt “forced to make a prequel,” before adding, “We’ve played the last man on earth, he died at the end of the movie, we can’t do it again.””