New I AM LEGEND Project To Be A Sequel

Lately, it seems that Will Smith is into the sequel business - Men In Black III will be hitting theaters May 25th, Hancock director Peter Berg has said that there are approximately 40 different ideas for a potential Hancock 2, and for the longest time, Warner Bros. has been trying to figure out a way to make a sequel to one of Smith's biggest blockbusters, I Am Legend. The film, which was released in 2007, made $585 million worldwide.

BEWARE OF SPOILERS

The film ends with Smith's character, Dr. Robert Neville, sacrificing himself to protect the lives of a mother and her son. They continue on to a protected human colony, where the mother gives those in charge the antidote that Neville was developing. In this way, the movie explains, he becomes legend. Early in 2008, the studio was trying to make up their mind to make either a prequel (which would allow Smith to return) or a sequel, continuing where the film left off.

Now it has been announced that Warner Bros. is moving forward with a sequel, making a deal with Akiva Goldsman and Smith's production company, Overbrook Entertainment. Even more interesting is that the deal specifically mentions that Warner Bros. intends Smith to reprise his role as Dr. Robert Neville, and Smith will make his decision when he gets the script. No one has mentioned how this will be accomplished (it's going to be pretty hard to explain how he survived the end of that film). I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence is not currently connected to the project; he made clear last year promoting Water for Elephants that he felt the project was dead. The script is being written by Arash Amel. Are you interested in seeing a sequel to I Am Legend? Does Will Smith's involvement surprise you?