Will Smith Reveals Big News About ‘I Am Legend 2’
Fans of I Am Legend are finally getting some real news about the long-awaited sequel, I Am Legend 2. Will Smith recently shared new details during his appearance on Drink Champs, and it included a big reveal about Michael B. Jordan’s character — plus how the sequel will work even though his character died in the original film.
Smith explained that the original idea for I Am Legend 2 was to make it a prequel. But that changed after they decided to use the alternate ending from the first movie, which showed his character, Dr. Robert Neville, survived. That ending was only on the DVD version.
“I can explain. There was an alternate ending that came out on the DVD. Watch the alternate ending, my character lives,” Smith said.
So instead of a prequel, they decided to pick up the story from where that alternate ending left off. That means Neville is still alive in the new movie.
For a long time, fans guessed that Michael B. Jordan might play Neville’s son. But Smith shut that idea down fast.
“He’s not my son, my darkseeker son (laughs),” Smith joked. Instead, Jordan plays the leader of a new human settlement.
“It’s a cool concept. Currently, Michael B’s character is the head of a settlement. There’s a settlement in Connecticut,” Smith shared.
Smith also gave some insight into the original movie’s ending — and how it was changed last minute because of audience reactions. The alternate ending, which followed the original book more closely, showed Neville learning that the infected creatures weren’t monsters at all — he was.
“The alternate ending was the first ending, the original ending. It was the original script, and it was based on the original novel,” Smith said.
In that ending, the infected creatures surround Neville not to attack, but to get back one of their own — a female Neville had been experimenting on.
“What we realize in the alternate ending is that he realizes the one that I was keeping in the room was his woman, and I realize it was his woman. The meaning of the ending was oh s***, I’m the monster,” Smith said. “They think of me as the monster.”
But the test audiences hated it. “It was the only movie I’ve ever had where the audience booed. At that ending, they booed,” Smith admitted. They had to change the ending just six weeks before the movie’s release.
“So six weeks before the movie comes out we had to reshoot the ending that was actually in the movie where my character dies,” he said. “Where my character dies in the end is actually the alternate ending.” The new ending scored much better with viewers.
“We were faithful to the novel in the previous one… but the audience hated it,” Smith said. “It was probably an $8 million dollar ending that was scrapped… so we ultimately put it on the DVD and Blu-ray.”
Smith didn’t give a release date or many plot details, but it’s clear that I Am Legend 2 will follow a world where Neville survived. Jordan’s character now leads a new group of survivors, and the story will likely explore what comes next in this post-apocalyptic world.
Fans are excited to see Smith and Jordan team up — and even more curious about what kind of story this new settlement will bring.
Smith didn’t say if the darkseekers would return in the same way, but with this fresh take and a powerful new cast, I Am Legend 2 is shaping up to be a sequel worth waiting for.
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