Following an announcement last year regarding a sequel to I Am Legend co-produced by and starring Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan, we are now learning more about the film that builds on the post-apocalyptic action thriller film released back in 2007. In a conversation with Deadline, producer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman shared that I Am Legend 2 will follow an alternate ending, one where Will Smith’s character does not perish.
The new storyline is believed to be derived from the alternate ending found on the two-disc special edition DVD release of I Am Legend. Following Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name more closely, Robert Neville realizes he has become a monster in the eyes of the infected, showing remorse for the experiments he has subjected Darkseekers to over the years. Abandoning his research, Neville sets off on a journey to Vermont in hope of finding the survivor’s colony.
“This will start a few decades later than the first,” said Goldsman. “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.” Adding, “We trace back to the original Matheson book, and the alternate ending as opposed to the released ending in the original film. What Matheson was talking about was that man’s time on the planet as the dominant species had come to an end. That’s a really interesting thing we’re going to get to explore. There will be a little more fidelity to the original text.”
Akiva Goldsman also took the opportunity to confirm the sequel to Constantine starring Keanu Reeves.
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