Warner Bros.’ I Am Legend 2 will take inspiration from The Last of Us and stick closer to the source material, according to Weed Road Pictures founder Akiva Goldsman speaking to Deadline. The story will star Jordan and also bring back Will Smith’s character from the original 2007 I Am Legend, and it will take place “a few decades” after the previous movie’s conclusion. Since the Will Smith character died at the end of the original movie, I Am Legend 2 will instead follow the alternate ending of the movie where he lived.
The rationale for the change (aside from money, presumably) is that this will allow the sequel to stick closer to the 1954 novel from Richard Matheson that the story is based on. The I Am Legend alternate ending is a popular scene among those dissatisfied with the film’s original action-packed ending.
“We trace back to the original Matheson book, and the alternate ending as opposed to the released ending in the original film,” Goldsman said. “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.”
Regarding how I Am Legend will pull from The Last of Us, Goldsman explained that it’s the franchise’s setting that he finds particularly fascinating. Presumably, he is talking about the HBO series rather than Naughty Dog’s original 2013 video game that the show is based on, but the point is made all the same.
“I’m obsessed with The Last of Us, where we see the world just post-apocalypse but also after a 20-30-year lapse,” Goldsman added. “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.”
I Am Legend 2 was announced last year. Some of the story’s finer details are still a mystery, though the promise that it will stick to the source material should have fans excited. Although the 2007 film certainly garnered its fair share of fans, many left displeased with its changes to the original story. Time will tell if Jordan and Smith can manage to put I Am Legend on a path to redemption.
