I Am Legend 2 With Will Smith And Michael B Jordan In The Works

I Am Legend 2 is in the works and will star Will Smith and Michael B Jordan as Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road works with Warner Bros again. Akiva Goldsman returns to Warner Bros, the studio where he nurtured two decades of his career as a writer, producer and director.

He won his Oscar in Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published in 2002 for his work in A Beautiful Mind (2001) starring Russell Crowe, Ed Harris and Jennifer Connelly under the direction of Ron Howard. Among his many previous works include 1997 Batman and Robin, 2005 Cinderella Man, the television series The Fringe, having four episodes under his direction and many others.

As a producer, two of his most successful projects are now getting sequels. These are 2005 Constantine and 2007 I Am Legend. It seems that the apparent success of the ongoing HBO Original series The Last Of Us fuels the film producer to develop a follow-up movie picking up where the original novel from Richard Matheson ended and not the theatrically released ending.

I Am Legend 2 is In Development, Starring With Will Smith And Michael B Jordan

READ MORE: I Am Legend Sequel Is Happening With Will Smith and Michael B Jordan

In an article written on Deadline, the producer admitted his obsession with the post-apocalyptic fungi-infected reanimated corpses series. The focus on the survival of the world after the outbreak appeals to him and opens more possibilities for developing characters within the story.

Co-Chairs Pete De Luca and Pam Abdy welcomed Goldsman into Warner Bros in an official statement saying that the filmmaker is:

a consummate producer, a brilliant writer, and a kind and generous human being. We’ve both known and worked with Akiva for years, and never cease to be amazed by his combination of filmmaking mettle and limitless imagination. We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome him back to the Warner Bros. family, where he has delivered some of the Studio’s most successful and acclaimed projects of the past two decades.

Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Goldsman declares that he is to work immediately on developing the sequels, saying:

We’re starting with two projects that are fun and very much Warners; the sequel to I Am Legend, with Will and Michael B. Jordan, and the sequel to Constantine with Keanu Reeves that Francis Lawrence is going to direct. So I’m coming out of the gate fast. We’re doing it with JJ Abrams, and Francis and Keanu and I have been pretty deep in the story breaking stage.

The story that is in development brings the original novel’s ending to the front and centre of the sequel’s narrative.

I Am Legend 2 With Will Smith And Michael B Jordan Uses Novel Ending

Credit: Amazon Prime

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I Am Legend 2 tells the story after a two- or three-decade time lapse. Interestingly, it might just satisfy the actual time gap once the movie premieres in theatres. Goldsman confesses:

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?

The continues to talk about the developing setting for the movie:

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.

Many fans were disappointed in the theatrically released ending back in 2007. The same ones were more appeased when the alternate ending was released. Of course, in order for them to get a continuing story, they can’t take the ending where Smith’s Robert Neville died.

What’s different from zombies is that I Am Legend has intelligent creatures capable of communicating and getting organized for a specific goal. This is not like in The Last Of Us, where the infected humans become driven by instinct to just consume and spread.

As a writer and producer, Goldsman can really put his own spin on the movie. However, some fans are apprehensive as to how much of a spin he will pull. Looking at the comments on his works, it’s either you like it or you don’t. Still, personally, I enjoyed A Beautiful Mind and The Fringe. If there is someone who can revitalize decades-old movies, Goldsman would be one of those who can.

What do you think about Akiva Goldsman making I Am Legend 2, starring Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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