You know how I Am Legend from all the way back in 2007 had an alternate ending specifically for the special edition DVD release in 2008? An alternate ending that completely clashed with the theatrical ending, but is a lot closer to how the book ended? Well, as it turns out, the screenwriter for the upcoming sequel likes that ending. Why else would said sequel continue from where that alternate ending left off instead of the theatrical one?
The Theatrical Ending Doesn’t Follow The Original Novel
In a recent interview with Deadline, Akiva Goldsman talks about how he and his company Weed Road are returning to Warner Bros. to produce a couple of new films. During said interview, he talks about the upcoming I Am Legend sequel, and gives us some choice tidbits about the sequel. While Goldsman won’t talk about how Michael B. Jordan will fit into the film or even Will Smith himself, he does talk about the story. You know, because he’s the screenwriter for it.
According to Goldsman, the story of I Am Legend 2 will take place “a few decades” past the ending of the first film. Not only that, but this sequel will not use the theatrical ending we saw in 2007. Rather, it will continue on from the alternate ending in the 2008 special edition DVD release. Goldsman believes that the alternate ending is more faithful to the original 1954 novel by Richard Matheson, and that’s why he’s going with it for the sequel. It doesn’t hurt that the alternate ending also fits the 2007 film much better than what we got in theaters. You can read Goldsman’s exact words below:
This will start a few decades later than the first. 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. 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.
I Am Legend 2: Release Details?
Unfortunately, what Akiva Goldsman doesn’t share is any release date for I Am Legend 2. Not even a release window. Heck, we don’t even know what the title is. That title I’m using is just a placeholder until we actually hear what it is from official sources. Whether is be from Warner Bros., or from Akiva Goldsman again. Tune back in to THS later to find those details out when we do. Hopefully sometime this year.
Source: Deadline
