Here’s confirmation (via Collider) that Steven Caple Jr. is being eyed to direct “I Am Legend 2.” The film is set to star Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan. Caple Jr. has directed three features, including “Creed II” and “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.”
If you’ve seen Francis Lawrence’s “I Am Legend” (2007), then you already know that Smith’s Dr. Robert Neville dies at the end.
The “alternate” ending was actually removed from the theatrical cut due to negative reactions from test screening audiences. Lawrence, believing he had made a mistake with that version, decided to reinsert the alternate ending on the two-disc special edition DVD released in 2008.
Akiva Goldsman, who returns to write the sequel, has said that “I Am Legend 2” will use the “alternate ending” as canon, effectively treating it as if Smith’s Dr. Robert Neville never died and instead continued his experiments on the Darkseekers.
“We’re sequelizing the alternative cut,” Goldsman told a Comic-Con panel. “Where Will lives and things don’t go well for humanity.” He added that there would be “some good news shortly” about the sequel.
Smith had previously hinted at this approach, telling Screen Daily that they were “going with the mythology of the DVD version.”
In March 2022, a sequel was officially announced by Warner Bros. Smith was said to be reprising his role, which left many people puzzled about how that would work given that, as mentioned, his character did not survive in the 2007 film. The answer from Smith and Goldsman is that they are simply treating the original theatrical ending as non-canon in favor of the alternate version.
Michael B. Jordan is set to star alongside Smith, with both also serving as co-producers. Goldsman (“A Beautiful Mind,” “Cinderella Man,” “Constantine”) has written the screenplay. It’s all coming together—and given that the 2007 film grossed close to $600 million worldwide, it’s not hard to see why a sequel is happening.
No official figure has been reported, but best guess is the budget landed somewhere in the $10M range. HBO pre-bought the streaming rights, but that was before David Ellison took over