I Am Legend, the 2007 blockbuster starring Will Smith and a bunch of CG zombie things
called Dark Seekers, was pretty popular, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year.
It raked in over $500 million worldwide, and Warner Brothers immediately greenlit a sequel
— but it never happened.
Here's why we never got to see I Am Legend 2.
Will Smith never really seemed into it
In 2012, Will Smith spoke with the BBC to promote the upcoming Men in Black III.
When asked about appearing in a follow-up to I Am Legend, Smith didn't waste his words:
"Producers are working on it.
I'm not actually working on it.
If it's great, I'm into it.
I don't want to be the sequel guy."
When you're promoting a sequel, and then say that you don't want to be "the sequel guy"
in relation to another project that's getting a sequel...well, that's pretty much that.
To his credit, Smith's been pretty much true to his word.
He's acted in over 20 movies, and he's only appeared in three sequels: Men in Black II
and III, and Bad Boys II, and that movie was worth it just for this:
"---- just got real."
And let's not forget he declined to come back to the Independence Day sequel in 2016 — and
not even the lovely Margot Robbie could convince him otherwise.
"Why'd it take so long?"
"I'm not doing it!
I'm not, don't get that, don't get that look on-"
"I love that movie so much."
"So you're not doing it?"
"I'm not...ok"
If he can say no to her, he is definitely not the sequel guy.
Prequel plans
Still, even without Smith, doing a follow-up to I Am Legend might've been tough.
As you may recall, Smith's character, Robert Neville, died at the end of the original film,
which makes it kind of difficult to pick up the story where it left off.
Then again, that didn't stop Terminator 3.
"I'm back."
Anyway, that's why Warner Bros. started pursuing a prequel, which, according to a 2008 article
in Variety, would've shown "the final days of humanity in New York before a man-made
virus caused a plague that left Smith's character the lone survivor among a mutated mob in the
city."
That sounds kind of cool, except the first movie already used flashbacks to show the
military quarantine of the city.
Neville valiantly decided to stay behind, and then helplessly watched as his wife and
daughter die in a helicopter crash during the evacuation.
That kind of covers the dramatic beats leading up to his solitary existence in the original
film.
So...nope.
Rather, a reboot
Roughly four years after the prequel plans hit a dead end, Warner Bros. announced yet
another plan to develop the franchise.
According to Deadline in 2012:
"The film is not being called a prequel, which had been rumored for the past few years."
By 2014, and with Will Smith having famously declared himself "not the sequel guy," the
project took yet another turn.
This time, according to another Deadline article, as a "a sci-fi version of The Searchers."
"I hope you die."
"That'll be the day."
That's right, The Searchers, the John Wayne Western from 1956 that follows a posse of
cowboys on a mission to get revenge and retrieve a kidnapped girl.
But probably in this case, the kidnapped girl is, like, a zombie or something?
One producer said it'll never happen
I Am Legend scribe and blockbuster-generator Akiva Goldsman had been the go-to guy for
the sequel plans from the beginning, but even he apparently had his doubts about a new installment
ever happening.
He laid it all out to io9:
"We've tried every which way.
In fact if you're available you could be in the next movie.
It will never happen but we really enjoyed trying to make it happen."
Zombie fatigue
Maybe the biggest problem with the I Am Legend sequel is coming up with an idea that seems,
well, fresh.
Our research reveals that, since 28 Days Later reignited the genre in 2002 the number of
zombie-related projects has climbed to approximately a gazillion.
Sure, I Am Legend was one of the most successful zombie flicks out of a solid group that includes
Dawn of the Dead, Zombieland, and World War Z, but that was mostly due to its early position
in the new zombie wave, as well as Will Smith's star power—both of which have significantly
faded in recent years.
The Walking Dead still draws solid ratings, but on the big screen, it's a different story.
For proof, see Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Or don't—no one else did.
"Aaahhh!!"
Warner Bros. would be smart just to let this one go.
After all…does anything really good ever come from resurrecting the dead?
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