‘I Am Legend 2′ will focus on the book’s alternate ending.
Producer and writer Akiva Goldsman are returning to Warner Bros with a multi-year first-look deal which includes the follow-up starring Will Smith and Michael B Jordan – as well as Keanu Reeves’ return for ‘Constantine 2‘ – and he admitted more inspiration will be taken from Richard Matheson’s novel.
He told Deadline:
“We trace back to the original Matheson book, and the alternate ending as opposed to the released ending in the original film.
“What Matheson was talking about was that man’s time on the planet as the dominant species had come to an end.
“That’s a really interesting thing we’re going to get to explore. There will be a little more fidelity to the original text.”
Goldsman noted that he’s taking some inspiration from the HBO series ‘The Last of Us‘ when it comes to telling the story over a longer period of time.
He explained:
“This will start a few decades later than the first. I’m obsessed with ‘The Last of Us’, where we see the world just post-apocalypse but also after a 20-30-year lapse.
“You see how the earth reclaims the world, and there’s something beautiful in the question of, as man steps away from being the primary tenant, what happens?
“That will be especially visual in New York. I don’t know if they’ll climb up to the empire state building, but the possibilities are endless.”
He went deeper into his approach, noting that Warner bosses Michael De Luca and Pam Adby share his commitment to targeting “thoughtful things that can play theatrically”.
He added:
“We’re all trying to figure out where that strike zone is, and I want to be able to help with IP I know and find pieces that are a little more actor-ey and story-driven but not as IP driven.”
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