“It was a logistical nightmare but a pleasure to be on,” recalls producer Michael Tadross. Robert Neville, who is immune to the virus that wiped out billions of people, roams around a deserted Times Square and beyond, rifle on shoulder, ready to shoot any of “the infected.” Manhattan had never looked so empty, even if behind the scenes the set was swarmed by everyone from New York’s governor to the city’s police commissioner. “Why not just shoot it on the streets of New York?”Ī gargantuan operation therefore began in order to present the city that never sleeps as the city that had gone to sleep. “And eventually, that movie did come out.”īased on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name, I Am Legend remains the definitive retelling (two other movie adaptations exist) thanks to Will Smith’s memorable performance (in interviews at the time, he compared the role to Gladiator and Forrest Gump) and the daring decision to relocate the story from Los Angeles to New York and film largely on location. It’s going to happen, guys,’” visual effects producer Mike Chambers tells Inverse. “We kept saying, ‘This is going to happen. Unsurprisingly, the team behind I Am Legend was more confident about the latter. Not only did the Will Smith tour de force depict Times Square emptied by a global epidemic more than a decade before the exact same thing happened IRL, but it also managed to predict DC’s plans for a Batman versus Superman live-action movie. More on Smith's return as Robert Neville, and how Jordan will factor into the new story, will be revealed once the production for I Am Legend 2 picks up.I Am Legend was ahead of its time. Making that version canon to the original film more than 15 years later would be a historic decision in terms of Hollywood franchises and alternate cuts.

I Am Legend 2 finally happening with Will Smith's return is great, but it's impossible to be pulled off without the original movie's alternate ending, not its theatrical one, being the starting point for the sequel. If the alternate ending is truly regarded as canon over the released I Am Legend ending, then it means that those involved in the sequel will have realized that it was not only the best ending, period, but also the only one that makes Will Smith's return possible. But that doesn't seem to be the case, as the actor is reportedly co-starring in the sequel alongside Jordan.

If Will Smith's role in I am Legend 2 was only expected as a cameo in some sort of flashback, however, then the official I Am Legend ending could work just fine.

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