I Am Legend 2 Gets Hopeful Update from Writer

More than 15 years have passed since Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend hit theaters as a movie helmed by the director of the latest installments of The Hunger Games saga, Francis Lawrence. The idea of ​​making a sequel has been around for several years now, and it’s finally coming to fruition.

However, the multiple projects that the director and his team have ahead, and the current Hollywood writers’ strike could delay the development of the film. Fortunately, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman has some good news for fans. Speaking with The Playlist, he confirmed that the second part of the movie starring Will Smith is among his upcoming projects:

“My pens are down, so there’s nothing to do. But, yeah, those are the next things I’m writing when I’m allowed to write again. And I had already begun [I Am] Legend 2 when we started striking, and Frances [Lawrence], Keanu [Reeves], and I have broken Constantine 2. I just haven’t started typing yet.”

I Am Legend has been adapted several times in addition to Lawrence’s film. In 1964, Vincent Price starred in The Last Man on Earth, one of the best-known versions. Another movie icon, Charlton Heston also had the opportunity to star in one of the adaptations in 1971, titled The Omega Man. Finally, in 2007, the low-budget film production company The Global Asylum also presented its version titled I Am Omega. The franchise has also been extended to other media such as comics, with its own series.

Akiva is an expert in book adaptations and has worked on the scripts for some popular films such as The Client, Practical Magic, A Beautiful Mind, I, Robot, The Da Vinci Code, and many others.

Related: Constantine 2 Writer Shares Positive Update on the Anticipated Sequel

What I Am Legend 2 Will be About?

The first installment of I Am Legend, like the book, tells the story of Robert Nevill, the only survivor left in New York City after a zombie epidemic that has left millions dead around the world.

Trying to survive in a house he’s had to turn into a fortress to avoid being attacked, Robert is searching for a cure to reverse the effects of the infection, going hunting for test subjects for his experiments. But on one of his outings something goes wrong, and he ends up being rescued by a woman and a girl.

In the famous ending of the film, Robert sacrifices himself to try to save his rescuers, since the zombies have followed them to a shelter where there are supposed to be more survivors. However, since Smith will return for the sequel, it is assumed that the new story will follow an alternate ending to I Am Legend where the protagonist survives.

In addition to the Academy Award-Winner actor, the film will feature Creed star Michael B. Jordan, although details about his character are being kept under wraps. Details on the plot of the sequel are also a mystery, but it will be set years after the original movie, probably following Robert again and a new hero.