When it was first announced in 2022 that Will Smith would co-star with A-lister Michael B. Jordan for I Am Legend 2, I couldn’t help but wonder what the Friday Night Lights actor’s role would be. There are many theories for how Jordan’s addition could work. Could he be playing the younger version of Smith’s character, or maybe the leader of Hemocytes? But after the American actor/rapper revealed more details of how his new co-star would fit into the I Am Legend sequel, I’m getting hype for the upcoming movie now!
Michael B. Jordan has become a real standout in each of his film projects, from Fruitvale Station to the 2025 movie release of Sinners. With one of Jordan’s upcoming projects being the long-awaited sequel to I Am Legend, Will Smith revealed to Revolt TV how the young actor would fit into all of this, and now I’m intrigued:
What we were gonna do was the prequel, so we were gonna do the prequel. … And [Akiva Goldsman] was like, ‘But wait, what if we make a new version from the alternate ending, where your character is still alive and you know, Michael B. Jordan’s character currently is the head of a new settlement. … He’s not my son.
So, Michael B. Jordan will not be the younger version of Dr. Robert Neville, his son, or the leader of the Hemocytes. Instead, it appears he’ll be the leader of a new settlement. After seeing Jordan commandeer the screen leading the Creed movies, I’m confident he’ll bring the right mix of intensity and emotional depth like Will Smith did in the original.
As we discovered at the theatrical ending of I Am Legend, there’s a colony of survivors among those infected by the Krippin Virus. Unlike Dr. Neville, who was the last man in New York, it looks like Jordan’s character will contrast in being surrounded by people, all while living in an apocalyptic world.
The first time Will Smith announced he would star in an I Am Legend sequel, it just left me feeling… confused. Even his pal DJ Jazzy Jeff seemed a little surprised by that casting choice. After all, the explosive, theatrical ending of the post-apocalyptic movie had Dr. Robert Neville kill himself and the attacking Darkseekers to save Anna and her son, who held onto the cure for the virus. Because of that, director Francis Lawrence felt there was no need for a sequel since Dr. Neville didn’t survive, and a prequel would have been too similar to the medical disaster flick Contagion. However, it looks like the sequel will retcon the original and go with the alternative ending of Dr. Neville surviving.
I Am Legend may still be in the development stages, but I'm still hyped to see Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan share the screen together. The Black Panther actor sent his praises to his co-star, saying he’s “excited” to work with someone he’s “looked up to for a really long time.” As the two will be producing the new sequel together, Smith appears to feel the same way about Jordan, feeling they have a “solid” collaboration. The I, Robot actor further clarified The Wire actor’s role in their new movie:
Currently, Michael B.’s character is the head of a settlement. So there’s a settlement in Connecticut.
With Michael B. Jordan’s character taking on a leadership role in the new location of Connecticut, I can already imagine power dynamics occurring between him and Dr. Neville. In the drastically different alternative ending the sequel is apparently going with, the virologist discovered that the Darkseekers weren’t as evil as they seemed, as the violence of their leader came from Dr. Neville kidnapping the female Darkseeker test subject. Dr. Neville decided to return the female Darkseeker to her mate, and they all walked away peacefully.
Maybe a possible plot for the sequel could be that Dr. Neville sees humanity in the Darkseekers that Jordan’s character doesn’t. It’ll be interesting to see if the dynamic between the two characters will be hostile or collaborative.
Will Smith’s reveal of Michael B. Jordan’s character heading a settlement in I Am Legend 2 is really hyping me up. With the new addition to the sequel leading a new generation of survivors, we’ll get to see humanity rebuilt from the ashes that Dr. Robert Neville first sought out to achieve.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
