I Am Legend 2 Has Officially Found It's Director

Back in 2007, Will Smith wandered the wastelands in the post-apocalyptic zombie thriller I Am Legend. The movie was a hit with critics and audiences, and the film's alternate (and canonical) ending has left the world of the film wide open for a potential follow-up. Now, almost 20 years later, a sequel is finally in the works, and now we have learned who will be directing the project.

via: World of Reel

According to Collider Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) is being eyed to direct “I Am Legend 2.” The film is set to star Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan. 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.