Warner Bros. Working On ‘I Am Legend’ Sequel Starring Will Smith & Michael B. Jordan Which Will Ignore The Original Theatrical Ending

It’s been more than 15 years since the release of Will Smith’s film, “I Am Legend.” And in that time, there have been plenty of discussions about a sequel. However, nothing has come to be. Well, until now, as it appears Warner Bros. is currently developing a new sequel to the original film, a sequel that will ignore the ending of the original film, actually.

READ MORE: ‘I Am Legend’ Sequel At WB To Star Will Smith & Michael B. Jordan

Speaking to Deadline, producer Akiva Goldsman teased a number of projects he has on his slate. One of those projects is a new “I Am Legend” sequel film, which will star Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan. “But wait,” you may say. “How is there a sequel starring Smith if his character dies at the end of the first film?” Well, it appears Goldsman is ready to go with the alternate ending, which was released on on Blu-ray, where Smith’s character survives. Not only does that ending work best for the sequel because it brings back the original star, as well, but it also more closely follows the events of the original source material.

“This will start a few decades later than the first,” Goldsman explained. “I’m obsessed with ‘The Last of Us,’ where we see the world just post-apocalypse but also after a 20-30-year lapse. You see how the earth reclaims the world, and there’s something beautiful in the question of, as man steps away from being the primary tenant, what happens? 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.”

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He added, “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.”

Of course, there’s not much else to say about the film at this stage of development. Clearly, enough time has passed that an older Will Smith works better because of the aforementioned “The Last of Us” vibe that Goldsman is striving to achieve. The real question is whether or not too much time has passed and maybe people won’t care about an “I Am Legend” sequel.

We’ll find out soon enough, apparently.