At the 2023 Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, Will Smith told a panel that Michael B. Jordan will appear in the “I Am Legend” sequel.
“I Am Legend” made $585 million dollars in the box office worldwide and remains a well-loved movie since its release in 2007.
The New York Times reviewed the original film and wrote, “There is something graceful and effortless about this performance, which not only shows what it might feel like to be the last man on earth, but also demonstrates what it is to be a movie star.”
Is Will Smith filming ‘I Am Legend 2’?
The film’s alternate ending will be the basis for the sequel. While “I Am Legend 2” hasn’t started filming, it’s likely that Smith will be in the movie.
“We’re going with the mythology of the DVD version where my character lived,” Smith explained to the panel.
“I have a call with Michael B. Jordan tomorrow. We’re really close. I am probably giving up too much information … the script just came in,” Smith added, per IMDb.
Smith added that Jordan was involved in coming up with the concept for the movie. Originally, Smith was hesitant to add on to the “I Am Legend” story, but once he heard Jordan’s ideas for the storyline, he got on board with the project.
Smith said, “The idea came up. I can’t talk about it yet, but it’s a really, really cool concept, and he was a part of creating the idea. So it was one of those ones I was gonna leave alone, and then I heard the idea. I was like, ‘That might work. I think we can do that,’” per Business Insider.
A timeline for the film has yet to be disclosed.
Why are there two versions of ‘I Am Legend’?
When shown to test audiences before its release in December 2007, director Francis Lawrence realized that the vast majority of pre-release viewers disliked what we now know as the alternate ending.
A different ending was included, and the alternate ending was added to the DVD version but was not part of the film that showed in theaters, according to Collider.
Instead of blowing up himself, the darkseekers and his lab after giving the cure to Anna, the alternate ending shows Neville’s realization that the darkseeker leader simply wants to be reunited with the zombie he’s been experimenting on.
Movie Web explains how the alternate ending shows the “moral ambiguity of Neville’s actions, delving deeper into the ethical implications and setting the stage for a thought-provoking sequel.”