I’m a legendone of the highlights of the prolific career of Will Smith, will be the subject of an unexpected sequel, more than fifteen years following the release of the film by Francis Lawrence adapted from the famous science fiction novel by Richard Matheson .
The sequels – and others” reboot », « soft reboot », « prequel » and « standalone » are legion in Hollywood, but if there was a sequel that we did not expect, it is this one. I’m a legend, post-apocalyptic novel by Richard Matheson published in 1954, has been brought to the screen three times, including a 1971 adaptation with Charlton Heston, titled The survivor, then in 2007 with Will Smith in the role of doctor Robert Neville, convinced to be the last survivor of a pandemic which decimated the world population and transformed the last survivors into “infected” – represented in the film by Francis Lawrence by zombies with tenfold physical capacities, where Matheson’s novel describes them more as vampires. Reclusive at home in a deserted New York where nature has taken over, Neville tries by all means to find a vaccine to bring mutants back to the side of humanity.
I’m a legend was one of the most important successes of Will Smith, who was then at the height of his career (I, Robot, In pursuit of happiness etc.): when it was released, the film had a record start in the United States and ended up collecting more than 585 million dollars worldwide. In the running this year for the Oscar for best actor for his performance in The Williams method, the Prince of Bel-Air – who recently released his autobiography – will produce and star in the sequel to I’m a legend, still under the aegis of Warner Bros and this time alongside Michael B.Jordanthe star of Creed and of Black Panther, who would have convinced Smith to commit to the project. Between them, Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan weigh more than 12 billion dollars at the box office and it is easy to understand the studio’s desire to launch the sequel to I’m a legend as soon as possible, especially in the current context…
On the other hand, we are entitled to ask ourselves (attention spoilers !) how the major will justify Will Smith’s return to the screen given that the 2007 film ended with the sacrifice of Robert Neville. A widely criticized ending, because it radically reverses the philosophical meaning of the end of Matheson’s novel, but softened by the presence of an alternative ending – initially wanted by the director – unveiled when the film was released on DVD. Given the propensity of the studios to rewrite their own history at will, we can probably expect that this alternate ending will play a role in the scenario of the sequel. To be continued…