I Am Legend‘s theatrical ending has a lot of notable flaws, which explains why the upcoming sequel starring Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan is building off a different finale. Released in 2007 and loosely inspired by the Richard Matheson novel of the same name, I Am Legend focused on Will Smith’s US Army virologist Robert Neville. One of the only survivors of a plague that largely wiped out humanity and mutated many of the survivors into “Darkseekers,” Neville spends much of the film trying to survive his encounters with the creatures while searching for a cure for the virus.

I Am Legend is perhaps most infamous for its harsh original ending, which is a major deviation from the original story as well as the thematic throughline of its own approach to the plot. An alternate ending that was closer to the novel in spirit was produced, but test audiences didn’t like it and the rest was history. However, it’s been announced that the long-awaited sequel to I Am Legend will be using the alternate ending as its canon set up. This works for multiple reasons, even beyond the fact that it allows Will Smith to return for the sequel.

I Am Legend’s Theatrical Ending Deviated From The Book And Killed Will Smith’s Character

Neville Sacrices Himself To Ensure The Cure Is Saved

I Am Legend‘s alternate ending is closer to the source material and a more thematically rich conclusion than the darkly abrupt one in the theatrical release, making it the perfect place to jump back into the story. Heading into the climax of I Am Legend, Robert Neville has captured a female member of the Darkseekers and experimented on her to finally crack the code on a cure. As the Darkseekers swarm his lab, Neville is forced to make a choice to save Anna and Ethan. In the theatrical ending, the Darkseekers are purely animalistic in their ᴀssault on Neville’s lab.

Quickly developing the cure for the global virus, Neville ensures it survives by giving it to Anna and Ethan. While they make their escape, he remains behind and sacrifices his life to stop the Darkseekers. The film’s final monologue from Anna reveals that the cure worked, and that Neville became a “legend” among the rebuilt human society. This is a departure from the story that inspired I Am Legend, especially how the Darkseekers are portrayed as monsters. A major element of the original story is the discovery of their enduring humanity despite becoming monstrous looking, which the original ending ignores.

I Am Legend’s Alternate Ending Had Robert Neville Survive And Was Closer To The Book

Neville’s Final Realization Gives I Am Legend A Thematic Strength The Original

This is a far cry from the novel’s ending, which forced Neville to reckon with the realization that the monsters he was hunting retained human emotions all along and that he had become the horrifying “legend” that haunted their nightmares. That more human aspect of the story is present in the original novel’s ending, as well as the alternate ending for Will Smith’s I Am Legend. In that version, Neville realizes the Darkseeker leader is trying to recover his mate. Neville returns her to him and realizes how his experiments on the Darkseekers have turned him into their terrifying “legend.”

The Darkseekers then retreat without any more fuss, flashes of emotion proving to the audience they aren’t monsters. Neville abandons his research in shame, disgusted that his experiments over the years were carried out on people he saw as subhuman. Alongside Anna and Ethan, Neville departs his lab and heads off into the greater world in hopes of finding other survivors. It’s a more bittersweet but quietly moving ending, one that fits the themes of humanity’s resilience and darkness alike. While it’s still different from the book, it feels more in-line with the thematically powerful nature of the story’s ending.

Why I Am Legend 2 Will Consider The Alternate Ending Canon For The Sequel

I Am Legend 2 Picks Up After The Alternate Ending Instead Of The Theatrical Cut

It has been confirmed that I Am Legend 2 will use alternate ending as the springboard for its own story, making that the canon climax of the first film. It’s an interesting decision by the creatives, and suggests a major shift away from the ending of the original film. It’s far from the first time a film has undone the events of previous movie to set up a new sequel, with the trend of ret-conning new details and twists to previous films going all the way back to Bride of Frankenstein revealing the monster didn’t actually die in a fire.

However, it’s somewhat unprecedented to see a sequel fully abandon the more commonly seen ending for one that test audiences initially disliked. It also changes the ending — and subsequently the core themes — of the film. Neville’s actions are treated as horrifying in the alternate ending, but given a heroic purpose in the theatrical ending. The alternate ending also leaves a much different world to be explored in a possible sequel. In the theatrical cut, the ending hints that the world eventually rebuilt itself after Neville’s sacrifice. There’s plenty more compelling story to explore in a world where that didn’t happen.

I Am Legend’s Alternate Ending Is Better (And Not Just Because Will Smith Survives)

I Am Legend‘s Alternate Ending Sets Up A Much More Compelling Setting For A New Story

Nearly twenty years after it was released, the alternate ending of I Am Legend is one of the most discussed elements of the film. It’s a more thematically compelling and interesting concept than the fairly basic “good guy saves the day through morally dubious means” finale of the theatrical cut. It plays into the themes of the novel and gives the sci-fi film a genuinely bittersweet core that pays off several hints earlier in the film that the Darkseekers aren’t the mindless beasts Neville treats them as. It’s a more complex finale that has endured in sci-fi for a reason.

It also works far more naturally as a sequel set-up. Even beyond Will Smith being able to reprise his role as Neville in a world where his character didn’t get himself killed, a setting where the Darkseeker virus wasn’t cured and has continued to impact the planet is an inherently more interesting place to explore than a setting where Neville wiped out the virus. It sets up plenty of new directions, especially if a guilty Neville must resume to his research even with the knowledge he’s gained. It ensures that I Am Legend 2 builds off a more compelling foundation.