The rumors we reported back in August regarding a sequel to I Am Legend have apparently moved one step closer to the big screen. According to ShockTillYouDrop, author Richard Matheson just signed off sequel rights to his 1957 novel to Warner Bros.
Meanwhile, the film’s screenwriter, Mark Protosevich, continues to express his involvement with a follow-up set a decade in the future. Whether Will Smith will return is still under wraps, though the actor has expressed strong reluctance to star in sequels in recent interviews. If you’ve seen the somber smash hit, wouldn’t a sequel undermine the movie’s entire message and title, sort of like how the film version undermined the book’s big reveal? Um, I think so.
With the film quickly ascending up the ladder to reside as the sixth biggest domestic film of 2007 (and maybe higher), and raking it in internationally, can we officially give some credit to the mannequins? They were excellent.
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Hahah. Loved the mannequins. Especially the random one that was used as a trap. Sequel though? That should be interesting. I loved the movie but I have to say the ending was a disappointment.
Well if Will Smith doesn’t do the sequel who would? I hear Ben Affleck isn’t busy these days. (JK!)
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:32 pm
..Please, No sequel Hollywood, not every movie that makes good money deserves a sequel.
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:57 pm
I Am Legend is the proverbial stand-alone epic, not Gremlins.
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:59 pm
The only sequel I would want to see is where a group of survivors pays a reverent visit to the ruins of lab where the cure was invented and finds Nevill’s “six redundant hard drives” with his video diary on them.
Watching the videos leads to the rest of the sequel being a flashback to Will Smith and his dog and their fight to survive in Manhatten prior to the start of the first movie.
January 3rd, 2008 at 5:07 pm
They will probably make it it will probably suck, but it will make a little money and pave the way for Iam legend 3 starring Kevin Sorbo.
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:20 pm
a sequel like this will probably compare to 28 weeks later: cool movie but not as close to us as the original.
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:06 pm
The way “I Am Legend” ended was okay. There is no door left to be open for it there and would not do well at all if they thought of doing the sequel. Finding the video recordings would be impossible through the plot of the sequel. They got ruined since after all the zombies, lastly, tore through the lab and everything ended up to be destroyed. There is no possible way……
Since it is mentioned that the author of the graphic novel accepted the sequel rights, it will be a total different story and would go in a complete opposite direction from the first. Since we all know the very last part of the ending where she goes into town with the cure, is where maybe the zombies would shear right over. The people would be chased to the mountains where the cold air would cure all the zombies that would turn back to people. If that is the case and ends up to be the story, that would be pretty lame and stupid.
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Thanks for the warning.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I liked the book. I liked the movie.
That out of the way I’d like to see a continuation of that universe without it being a direct sequel. It doesn’t have to be I Am Legend 2: Legend Harder. Just set it in the same world a few days after the last one ended and give it a completely different title, no 28 Weeks Later happening please…
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Is there really any point in making a sequel,
most of the first film followed Robert neville and he died in a grenade blast the only way there could be a sequel is if It becomes a supernatural ark but that won’t happen
or the sequel may be sort of a prequel about how the people deteriorated and how he began to develop a relationship with the dog and it may allow more charactoer development for robert neville.
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:28 pm
There is some good speculation thus far in the comments about IAL2, but I highly doubt they are making a prequel. The screenwriter has been quoted as saying it will take place 10 years after the first one, if I’m not mistaken. Thus, I see Will Smith getting an especially grand payday to slip back into the role of Dr. Neville, with the sequel quickly explaining that he didn’t expire in the grenade blast after all.
This is a similar situation to a once rumored sequel to Leon: The Professional. You never see the character’s demise on screen. It’s completely lame and unnecessary, but I’ll bet anyone Smith will def be apart of this, or it won’t happen. Another way to do it would be to focus on another part of the world with another actor(s), but that would seem like more of the same at this point.
January 4th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
NO SEQUEL.
If you want to see another version of this film, watch The Omega Man (which I am Legend is very much influenced by). That or The Last Man on Earth. I thought they actually did a pretty good job on I am Legend, and i normally don’t like Will Smith…But he did a pretty good job. I really think they should have stuck with the vampire theme from the book, though, instead of those CRAPPY looking mutant things. I am sorry…But the CG was garbage compared to most other CG now days.
January 5th, 2008 at 5:15 am
A sequel is a very good idea for this movie if you look at the trailers there were two or three that had Neville surrounded by the infected, they were within inches of his face while he was standing up, with mouths open ready to take a few bites out of him, also there was a very big explosion that also was not in the movie so the screen writers do have some parts in the trailers to use for the new movie, this was not in the movie they can use that as a basis for their new movie! I look forward to seeing it and I also hope that they make a TV series, I like movies where mankind go to the brink, and by the grace of GOD get a second chance to follow what he wants for us!
There must have been someone else outside that came to investigate the explosions in the city, he Neville throw his grenade toward the middle of the infected to get the biggest effect or Alice and the boy would be eaten, they were knocked out until morning and left in the walls of the lab. Neville is surrounded by three of the infected in his destroyed lab he was knocked out during a second and bigger explosion that came from outside to blow the walls down he got knocked out and is drag from the lab by an unknown savior. It has been two weeks and he awakes to find him self with a small group of survivors that are heading to the colony that Alice spoke.
During his stay in the colony he has been trying to perfect the process of his cute, so from time to time he and his team have to go out and trap new subjects for his experiments. Every time they go out the infected track them, and they come ever closer to the colony, during his last trek to find a new subject and while he had him at the lab he discovered that they are changing. He is in a race against time because his antivirus cure will only work for a little time, the virus is in a constant state of change they are mutating, it could be tomorrow or a few years from now, and they the infected will become and more like the vampires of legend, and those people who exists in those colonies will be completely wiped out!
January 5th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
@ P
Why did you type out the whole story? I think we all know whats up here…And you’re wrong…The last thing the movie industry these days needs is another sequel, and basing a sequel off of scrapped bits of the first movie is an even worse idea…
January 7th, 2008 at 5:05 am
amazing film brilliant the zombie looks like my m8s mum
January 8th, 2008 at 8:23 am
i like the movie very much! for me will smith is the only artist to me! not like here in my country here in phillipines the artist here are too noob…
January 10th, 2008 at 2:38 am
i think that the first film was wonderful and more serious acting by will but, the movie didnt show enough of how the virus spread it just didnt show enough i think a sequel will be good the sequel will contain anna from the first she brings the cure to the village and tat village broadcasts to the world somehow that they have a cure they just need some who can engineer it so they get a call all the way from france where a survivour (scientist) hears there signal and they go to france while in france though the mutants are there o fcoarse but they are smarter and they know how to pick the ppl off it should star shia labouf as a young teenager
January 15th, 2008 at 2:27 am
dude they need to make a sequel like where they try to cure the people in the cities and than the mutants attack the colonies or something
January 15th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
the movie wuz great and the ending was great because you always expect for a happy ending so it shocks you a sequel might ruin the whole point of the story
January 18th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
as much as i loved this movie–saw it like 25 times –a sequel is just not appropriate for the extremely well done and shocking ending. it’s supposed to be legendary … right? so allow will smith to make history with his amazing performance and dont ruin the entire phenomenon that this movie has come to be… and for all those stating that the movie was commercial , it was actually quite the opposite of it…unlike most apocalyptic movies , this one ends on a somewhat hopeful note and makes you think about a lot of things…robert neville’s sacrifice is supposed to be redeeming for himself and a light of hope for the survivors. therefore i hope these screenwriters will look at this movie as a truly legendary epic piece of art and not as a another hollywood mean to enrich themselves
April 7th, 2008 at 1:03 am
well we all liek to see wat happends after the find teh cure. but we all no basically. its rpobely one of teh best movies ive ever seen. so it might just ruin teh whole thing if they have another
April 27th, 2008 at 6:09 am
the alternative ending in the movie makes it seem there could be a sequel :-/
i liked both endings ;)
May 8th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
In response to P, that zombie by will is part of the alternate version. Just thought I’d let you know!
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:41 am
I would like to see a sequel to the movie. I thought more could have been done with the movie. Omega Man was a better version but obviously now outdated.
Corey Cotta
Author of All of Yesterdays Tomorrows