I am Legend

Via AICN, they’ve received an anonymous, untested source that tells them the “I am Legend” sequel is not going to be a prequel as originally rumored, but will instead be a direct sequel to the first movie. Which will be kinda hard to do, as, well, Robert Neville (played by Smith) kinda got blown up and junk at the end of the first movie.

So how are they gonna do a direct sequel with the above already established? Here’s AICN:

Let’s start at the beginning. Smith is actually the one who developed the initial story. It took place several years before the original film and there were still pockets of survivors and the story centered around Smith interacting, bonding, and ultimately failing to save them. For months this was the story. Warner’s didn’t much care for it and Smith and Weiss eventually came on board and all parties agreed to change things up. Well this change is pretty insane, the film is no longer a prequel, it’s a fucking sequel!

Warner Bros has greenlit a prequel to I Am Legend. Will Smith has signed on to reprise his role as Robert Neville, and Francis Lawrence has returned as director.

The prequel will follow Neville in the last days before and after the man-made virus kills/mutates New York City. A sequel was considered, but obviously wouldn’t have been possible without starting over with a completely new lead character/actor. No word on if author Richard Matheson was consulted about the film. Apocalyptic stories usually sit in one of two categories, pre-Apocalyptic (ie Armageddon, Independence Day) or post-Apocalyptic (I Am Legend, Children of Men), so it will be an interesting change to see a film which might straddle both.

“I am Legend’s” original director, Francis Lawrence tells ShockTilYouDrop that the next I’m Legend  movie will be prequel:

“Yes, yes, absolutely, we’re actually trying to crack that. We’re trying to figure out some ideas for it, but yes, it would be a prequel…

In the prequel, it’s slightly different because it’s earlier. We were three years later so we did a lot of research into the way nature would have sort of overtaken the city, with the cracks in the streets and the weeds, so if it’s just back earlier, it’ll be slightly different so the approach will be different. We’re not positive of the time of the year, because if you go in winter, you can do some entirely different kinds of things.”

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Warner Bros. has released another one-sheet poster for the upcoming Will Smith horror/science-fiction movie “I am Legend”, based on the classic novel by Richard Matheson.

Robert Neville (Will Smith) is a brilliant scientist, but even he could not contain the terrible virus that was unstoppable, incurable, and man-made. Somehow immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague—The Infected—lurk in the shadows…watching Neville’s every move…waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind’s last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered…and quickly running out of time. continue