Though I Am Legend 2 won’t appear on the 2024 movie schedule, the hype machine is starting to snap into place. The mere announcement of a follow-up to one of Will Smith’s best movies has fans wondering how this next chapter will continue the world adapted from author Richard Matheson’s novella of the same name. Especially when the 2007 movie possessed an originally downbeat ending that’s apparently being thrown out.
With this sequel finally in the works at Warner Bros, I Am Legend’s superior alternate ending is finally canon. That’s only the beginning of what we know so far about this Michael B. Jordan co-starring sequel! As time marches on, more information will be revealed and the next chapter of Dr. Robert Neville’s saga will become clearer in its direction.
Which should be a lot, as this is one of those sequels we never thought would exist in a million years. In the spirit of curiosity and hype, let's talk out everything we know about I Am Legend 2; with plenty of room to add whatever updates the future will bring.
What Is The I Am Legend 2 Release Date?
Unfortunately we do not have a release date for I Am Legend 2, and the project is still in a rather early stage. Originally, Will Smith had announced that the “script just came in” back in December 2023. June 2024 saw co-star Michael B. Jordan’s I Am Legend 2 update stating that the production was “still working on the script and getting that up to par.” There’s no telling when things could get started, as there also isn’t any directing talent lined up for this new film at the moment.
The I Am Legend 2 Cast Includes Will Smith And Michael B. Jordan
So far, the two people we know to be in I Am Legend 2 are Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan. Thanks to his surprise announcement of I Am Legend 2’s production, as well as the canonization of the first film’s alternate ending, the Academy Award winner is presumably returning to his role of Dr. Robert Neville.
In May 2024, Smith teased a “solid collaboration” with Michael B. Jordan, and it sounds like the two men have quite a few ideas when it comes to the movie’s story. But we still have no updates on who Michael B. Jordan will be playing in this upcoming sequel.
Which is even more mysterious considering we don’t see many other humans outside of Robert, his third act companions Anna (Alice Braga) and Ethan (Charlie Tahan), and a couple of guards at the compound of survivors we see in the theatrical ending.
What Will I Am Legend 2 Be About?
The entire existence of I Am Legend 2 rests on the decision to retcon I Am Legend’s ending, making the “controversial” alternate ending officially canon. Theatrically Francis Lawrence’s 2007 blockbuster ended with Dr. Robert Neville dying in an explosion meant to kill the Hemocyte/Darkseeker Alpha Male (Dash Mihok) and the good doctor himself. Anna and Ethan hit the road with the cure that Robert had engineered, and the movie ended on a hopeful note.
Meanwhile, the alternate ending made it to I Am Legend’s home entertainment release, and showed Robert, Anna, and Ethan venturing into the world without a cure. So a lot of interesting decisions could be made plot wise, now that our hero is alive, and the ending of the first movie has been undone.
The Last Of Us Had A Significant Effect On I Am Legend 2’s Story
Another plus to I Am Legend 2 basing its story on the alternate ending is the fact that screenwriter Akiva Goldsman has admitted that The Last of Us’ influenced this Will Smith sequel. Jumping “20-30 years into the future,” Goldsman has promised even more imagery of nature reclaiming the world; which will undoubtedly lead to some dangerous trials ahead.
Rather than dying as the boogeyman for the vampire race, Dr. Robert Neville is alive and well with friends. Or at least we can presume he’s well, unless I Am Legend 2 opens with Will Smith further lamenting his inability to create a cure, or worse.
The Fact That I Am Legend 2 Is Even Happening Is A Major Change From The Book
The fact that I Am Legend 2 is even happening, by default, pushes the story further out of the realm of Richard Matheson's writing. Which is exciting, but also something that Warner Bros. has been trying to do, thanks to several other intriguing prospects they've entertained to keep I Am Legend alive.
At the end of Matheson’s novella, resourceful everyman Robert Neville kills himself after being betrayed by a beautiful vampire double agent. Rather than be executed as an example, he takes a fatal dose of cyanide to become a sort of boogeyman for their society. It’s a spiteful ending, which is semi-reflected in Will Smith’s military medical expert of the same name killing himself at the end of the 2007 movie, and the Hemocytes trying to attack him.
The existence of I Am Legend 2, which reinstates the alternate ending where Dr. Neville lives, but has not cured the Hemocyte condition, only further breaks from that tradition. Our hero is still very much alive, and we don’t know where he’ll be heading next. And admittedly, past concepts from Warner Bros. could have taken even bigger swings, if they had been brought to fruition.
A New I Am Legend Movie Has Been In The Pipeline For Some Time Now
As far as an I Am Legend sequel is concerned, Warner Bros. has been trying to make that happen pretty much since the first film made a worldwide gross of $584.5 million. Director Francis Lawrence’s thoughts on I Am Legend 2 confirmed as much years later, and while the studio was hot on the idea, the director was not.
Two previous attempts were made, with the first having Lawrence attached to direct, roughly around the 2007-2008 time period. Not too long after, 2012 saw another iteration in the works, which was supposed to “retrofit” A Garden At The End Of The World, a script from Apple Store employee turned writer Gary Graham, into I Am Legend 2.
Both ideas fizzled out, leading to the current incarnation you see today. Which, apparently, is still undergoing changes that could evolve the story even further.
There Was Even Talk Of An I Am Legend Prequel At One Point
Yes, as it turns out, the decision makers at Warner Bros. did see the theatrical ending to Will Smith’s post-apocalyptic opus. That much is true as an I Am Legend prequel almost happened, being announced as far back as 2008. So roughly around the same time in history that saw Warner Bros. trying to continue Dr. Neville’s story, a previous adventure was also in the works.
In an interview for the 2008 release of Seven Pounds, Collider actually obtained plot details from Smith himself on this project. This story intended to cover the earlier days of the Krippen Virus pandemic, with Dr. Neville and his team traveling from D.C. to Manhattan as the world continues to disintegrate. That’s about all that’s known about this concept, which is still intriguing to discuss.
Perhaps a prequel novel could be written out of this storyline, in order to hype the world up for I Am Legend 2. It would certainly help keep the fires stoked as we wait for more information on Will Smith's return to this long awaited next chapter. A lot of mystery still shrouds just how I Am Legend is supposed to continue, and we’re going to keep our ears and eyes open for any new details as they land.
