New information about Michael B. Jordan’s I Am Legend 2 role makes it even more likely that the upcoming movie is borrowing an eerie detail from the original book. While information about the upcoming I Am Legend sequel is limited, it has long been public knowledge that Will Smith would be returning to play Robert Neville. This was made possible by the decision to base the new movie on the 2007 movie’s alternate ending, which saw Smith’s Neville survive. To make this all the more exciting, Jordan’s name was added to the cast list, and his character could be connected to the I Am Legend book.
2007’s I Am Legend was based on the book of the same name by Richard Matheson, published in 1954. The movie’s theatrical cut, which saw Neville blow himself up to give his companions time to escape, is absolutely nothing like the original book. However, the alternative ending is a bit closer to Mattheson’s story since it sees Neville realize that the Darkseekers are capable of love and community. I Am Legend 2 will follow this version of events, and a tease from Smith could mean that another aspect of 1954’s I Am Legend will make it to the screen.
Will Smith Says That Michael B. Jordan Will Be The Leader Of A New Settlement In I Am Legend 2
There’s New Clarity About His Mysterious Character
Ever since it was announced that Jordan would be taking a primary role in I Am Legend 2, there has been a great deal of speculation regarding who his character would be. A popular theory was that Jordan’s character would be Smith’s on-screen son, but the original I Am Legend actor sH๏τ this down. He revealed that, instead, “Jordan’s character currently is the head of a new settlement.” At first glance, it could be ᴀssumed that this settlement would be the one Alice Braga’s Anna was trying to reach in Vermont. However, Smith clarified that Jordan’s settlement is in Connecticut.
Since this is a “new” settlement, the story here could be just about anything. It’s evident that Neville will have traveled from New York to Connecticut at one point or another between I Am Legend and I Am Legend 2, but precisely why is challenging to say. It’s possible that Neville is looking for people to hear him out about his alternate-ending revelation that the Dark Seekers are capable of love, and Jordan’s character could be a friend or enemy in this regard. However, it’s also possible that this will be an eerie settlement featured in the I Am Legend book.
The I Am Legend Book Featured A Settlement Of Vampires
I Am Legend 2’s Darkseekers May Have Become More Sophisticated
In Matheson’s I Am Legend book, Neville was targeted by a group of Darkseekers (though they weren’t called this in the book) because he had been capturing their kind to experiment to find a cure. This resulted in dozens of deaths, but Neville didn’t think much of this since he considered them monsters. To put a stop to it, these beings kidnapped Neville and held him captive in their own settlement. The vampires ultimately decided that Neville would be put to death for his crimes. At the end of the I Am Legend book, Neville accepted his death, realizing the vampires were the new dominant species and he was the monster in their eyes.
Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman has expressed a desire to return to the themes of the I Am Legend book with this sequel. This, combined with Smith’s tidbit about Jordan’s character being the head of a settlement, could be a hint that the community of monsters from Matheson’s works will be brought to the screen. Jordan’s character may be the Darkseeker leader of a settlement of such monsters in Connecticut. These would be a more organized, sophisticated version of the Darkseekers than what was seen in I Am Legend, but even this makes perfect sense with the original story.
Why I Am Legend 2 Should Restore The Original Books’ Ending
The Original Story Reflected A More Complex Meaning
I Am Legend‘s theatrical cut was a fair success, but it didn’t align much with the original book. The whole point of Matheson’s story was that Robert Neville had become a legend because he was no longer a member of Earth’s dominant species. He was the last of the extinct humans, and the time had come for him to die and leave this new society of beings to take over. The alternate ending of I Am Legend brushed the surface of this, but the full meaning of the original book has yet to be explored on screen.
Though we can certainly look forward to Jordan’s performance one way or another, this would be a perfectly exciting and creepy twist for I Am Legend 2.
If I Am Legend 2 makes Jordan’s character the leader of a Darkseeker settlement, it would be a sign that the significant themes of Matheson’s book ending would be restored. Moreover, it would allow the new movie to take a deeper and darker look at who these beings are. Robert Neville can grapple with the question of is really a monster, the infected creatures, or himself. Though we can certainly look forward to Jordan’s performance one way or another, this would be a perfectly exciting and creepy twist for I Am Legend 2.
I am Legend
- Created by
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Richard Matheson, Akiva Goldsman
- First Film
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I Am Legend
- Latest Film
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I Am Legend
- Upcoming Films
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I Am Legend 2
- Cast
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Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Michael B. Jordan, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith, Dash Mihok, Joanna Numata
Summary
The I Am Legend franchise explores a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a virus that turns humans into nocturnal, zombie-like creatures. The first film, released in 2007, stars Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville, a scientist and the last known human survivor in New York City. He works tirelessly to find a cure while fending off mutated creatures. A sequel, I Am Legend 2, is currently in development and is set to expand the story decades after the events of the original, taking inspiration from the alternate ending where Neville survives.
