Yes, you read that right: Will Smith is set to reprise his role as the postapocalyptic survivor Dr. Robert Neville in a sequel to 2007’s “I Am Legend.”
“I Am Legend” saw Smith play the sole survivor of an apocalypse that turns humans into seemingly mindless vampiric mutants, called Darkseekers.
Though Smith’s hero was killed off at the end of the movie’s theatrical cut, the actor was confirmed for the sequel back in March 2022.
The “Black Panther” and “Creed” star Michael B. Jordan is also set to star in and produce the sequel, and he may have inspired Smith to return to his role.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight in March 2022, Smith said he wasn’t originally interested in coming back for a sequel until hearing Jordan’s idea for the film.
“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,” Smith said. “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.'”
But how exactly might Smith’s Neville return in the movie?
‘I Am Legend 2’ is expected to follow on from the alternate ending to ‘I Am Legend’
Warner Bros. has been trying to get “I Am Legend 2” off the ground for years, but it wasn’t announced until March 2022.
In February, the producer and writer Akiva Goldsman confirmed that the sequel was going ahead in an interview with Deadline, saying it’d take place “decades” after the 2007 movie.
Anyone who’s seen the original film will remember that Smith’s character sacrifices himself so Anna (Alice Braga) and Ethan (Charlie Tahan) can escape from the Darkseekers.
But Goldsman said the sequel would follow on from the alternate ending to “I Am Legend,” rather than the ending fans saw in