Amidst all the latest Hollywood announcements, a recent one from Deadline has managed to surprise every cinephile. According to the entertainment platform, Will Smith will be seen appearing with Black Panther and Creed fame Michael B. Jordan in the upcoming I Am Legend sequel. Additionally, Oscar bagging screenwriter, Akiva Goldsman, will pen down the sequel’s script. He, along with Mark Protosevich, took inspiration from Richard Matheson’s novel of the same name and the 1971 movie, The Omega Man, to write the story of the 2007 film. However, Warner Bros has not yet revealed whether Francis Lawrence will return to helm the sequel or not.
The fans are showing perplexed reactions on social media after hearing this piece of news. And the reason behind this chaotic scenario is clear. Many of you may know that the 2007 film had two different endings. In the theatrical cut, Neville (Will Smith) sacrifices himself to protect the cure of the virus that wiped out the majority of the human population. Those who survived got turned into Darkseekers, ugly looking vampiric and cannibalistic creatures.
WB released an alternate ending a year later after the original movie’s release. It shows that the alpha male of the Darkseekers successfully recovers her female partner from Neville’s lab. He even thinks about killing Smith’s character. On the other hand, Neville apologizes to the alpha male for the experiments he performed on the female Darkseeker. He conducted all those experiments to discover a cure for the virus. However, he realises that his insane search for the virus’ cure has turned him into a monster. As a result, he abandons all his research work and decides to go to the survivors’ camp with Anna and Ethan.
There is no way in hell that the makers can consider the theatrical cut if they are planning to make a sequel. It means they have to go with the alternate ending. But there is a problem here. A lot of people don’t know about the existence of the 2007 film’s alternate cut. They still believe that Smith’s character died at the end. That’s why the makers have to clear this doubtful situation first before moving forward with the sequel.
Another thing is that a fair portion of I Am Legend fans do not want a sequel. They think that the second part is not necessary. Or it is just a cash-grabbing opportunity for the producers. And we have to admit that their concern is valid. Why? Well, the world of Hollywood treasures hundreds of post-apocalyptic sequels. But we do not know when was the last time we watched a remarkable post-apocalyptic sequel. That’s the thing! A lot of them were just gross.
Will the upcoming I Am Legend sequel exceed our expectations? Only time will tell us.
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