Creating a sequel to a film about the post-apocalypse is difficult to do when your hero eats a grenade at the end, but that's not going to stop Will Smith and Akiva Goldsman from attempting to raise its moldy corpse from the grave. Word today is that the pair will be back to produce a sequel to their hit film, and have hired Arash Amel, a relative unknown, to craft the script for it.
The Hollywood Reporter says that Smith has "the potential to star," although of course it'd be difficult to see how that would be possible unless this were a prequel to the original story. That might be an interesting tactic to take, though, as New York City's survivors are scrubbed clean by the ever-increasing predations of the fevered masses; the problem there would be, of course, the fact that we all know that Robert Neville winds up on his own at the end, thus leaving the fate of any of his companions not exactly a mystery.
Not much more information is available at the moment, but given that the first film made almost $600 million worldwide, it's no surprise that the producers hope there's some kind of franchise potential here.
Sure. Do whatever you want Hollywood.
I will probably see this as I enjoyed the first one. I get why fans of the book are enraged, and the book is far more interesting than the dumb action movie we got out of the original. But I enjoyed it at the time and would be open to seeing a sequel, or a remake that follows the plot of the original. Also, why the hate on Akiva Goldsman? Some good movies have come out of his production work.
Literally the caption that best describes Matt yet.
@Martin_Blank said:
Vincent Price in The Last Man on Earth. The perfect I Am Legend adaptation was made in 1964.
Kids today.
Ugh this thread is reminding me of how much I loved that movie and how angry I felt when it was absolutely completely and utterly obliterated at the end.
I seen it. And it isn't.
Kids today.
Kind of weird to say the least. This was one of the movies where I actually liked Will Smith's performance. His stuff is usually hit and miss with me, more emphasis on the latter part. I'd be surprised if he did anything for this and I think it is just the studio trying to milk something despite the teats being dry.
I had more sympathy for the dog in this movie.
@PatVB: that made me not like the movie as much
The alt ending is better and falls closer in line with the books. Its also what's alluded to throughout the entire film. I think if they insist on a sequel and base in on that, it could be alright. Anyone who supports the insulting, nonsense market researched "martyr" ending can be effectively ignored. Frankly so can the book snobs. The book still exists, go read it. Learn how adaptations work.
They could, I dunno, make a film called I Am Legend which is actually like the novel "I Am Legend". Every film version so far has been monumentally disappointing, whilst the novel remains one of the greatest horror/post-apocalypse novels of all-time.
Resurrect Charlton Heston... 'nuff said.
Maybe they'll do the only logical thing: Forget this one happened and do a true to the book adaptation. The book was so awesome it didn't need to be bastardized.
This movie would be good if you never read the book. But once you read the book you realize how shit the movie is.
I really liked two-thirds of I Am Legend - besides the completely Hollywood-ized ending, it was actually a pretty thoughtful and poignant look at living in a post-apocalyptic world. If a prequel would mean more of just Will Smith and his dog, I'd be all for it.
A sequel that continues where the first movie left off, though? I can't see that being good.
I also enjoyed most of the original movie (besides the ending)
But having since read the book I am sad they changed so much.
Will joyriding through the streets of NY had none of the feel of the book.
@ryanwho said:
Couldn't agree more about the book snobs. I much prefer the alt ending, but people(and this goes for adaptations in general) who say "This movie sucks because it not like the book" make me go a big rubbery one. That is NOT how you critically analyze a movie. Judge a movie based on how well it is executed as a movie, not how faithful it is to the source material. Sometimes they are mediums that don't translate well to the screen. There are many examples of movies that were weighed down by being too close to the original source.
The first movie was a tribute to butterflies and Bob Marley. The whole film is a reference to those things. It's also a stand alone film. I have a feeling the sequel lwould be of way lower budget and be utter tripe.
@Oni said:
I thought Pursuit of Happiness was pretty good for a Will Smith drama.