I Am Legend 2: Will Smith gives some information on Michael B. Jordan’s character

A couple of years ago, it was announced that Warner Bros. and producer Akiva Goldsman‘s company Weed Road are working on a sequel to the 2007 Richard Matheson adaptation I Am Legend (watch it HERE), which will see Will Smith reprising the role of Dr. Robert Neville, now joined in the cast by an unspecified character played by Michael B. Jordan. We haven’t heard much about I Am Legend 2 as time has gone by – and while Goldsman teased that “good news” was coming way back in July, that news still hasn’t come along nine months later. But, at least Smith has decided to share some information about Jordan’s character.

Directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Goldsman and Mark Protosevich that was based on the Matheson novel, I Am Legend had the following synopsis: Robert Neville, a brilliant scientist, is a survivor of a man-made plague that transforms humans into bloodthirsty mutants. He wanders alone through New York City, calling out for other possible survivors, and works on finding a cure for the plague using his own immune blood. Neville knows he is badly outnumbered and the odds are against him, and all the while, the infected wait for him to make a mistake that will deliver Neville into their hands.

The version of I Am Legend that reached theatres ended with Neville sacrificing himself (using a grenade to blow up himself and the attacking “Darkseeker” creatures) to protect other characters. But that ending was actually a reshoot. The original ending was more low-key, with Neville making peace with the Darkseekers after realizing that he was the monster in the eyes of these creatures. That alternate ending was included on the special edition home video release of I Am Legend – and Goldsman has previously told Deadline that I Am Legend 2 will continue on from the ending where Neville survived, not the theatrical ending where he died. He reiterated that during a Comic-Con panel last year, saying, “We’re sequelizing the alternative cut, where Will lives and things don’t go well for humanity.“

During an interview on the Drink Champs podcast, Will Smith admitted that they were originally thinking about making a prequel, then Goldsman came up with the idea to follow up the alternative ending. He said (with thanks to our friends at Bloody Disgusting for the transcription), “Six weeks before the movie comes out, we had to reshoot the ending that was actually in the movie where my character dies. We saved it, ’cause the audiences hated it. But it was what we originally wanted to do. It was probably an $8 million ending that got scrapped, ’cause there was special effects and all that stuff in it.” As for the character Michael B. Jordan will be playing in I Am Legend 2, he “currently is the head of a new settlement in Connecticut. He’s not my son.“

Months ago, we heard that Creed II and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts director Steven Caple Jr. was in the running to direct I Am Legend 2, but his involvement was never officially confirmed.

Are you looking forward to seeing Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan team up for I Am Legend 2? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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