The ending of I Am Legend makes the announcement of a sequel interesting. Society can now relate to fighting a deadly global disease and the worldwide panic and pain that has ensued. But the sequel has been officially greenlit, despite the film's star, Will Smith, making headlines for all the wrong reasons at the 2022 Academy Awards. However, Will Smith is undoubtedly one of the most established stars in Hollywood, and without a doubt, Will Smith won't let I Am Legend 2 go.

I Am Legend tells the story of scientist Robert Neville. He methodically survives the brutal post-apocalyptic streets of New York City with no one to trust but his beloved dog, Samantha. He also carries with him the memories of his wife and young daughter, who were killed. With almost 100% of the global population either turned into ravenous, murderous, physically enhanced mutants or killed due to a virus engineering experiment gone wrong, Robert dedicates his scientific know-how to a desperate last-ditch effort to cure the mutants' disease and save humankind.

Robert follows a strict daily protocol for his safety. He uses salt to mask his scent around his apartment to keep the mutants from finding him and kills the monsters wherever he finds them. He does this while working rigorously to cure the disease threatening to wipe out humanity. All is well for Robert and Sam until the arrival of a mother and daughter trying to reach the last colony of uninfected humans upsets his careful balance.

So, how will the story continue? Here's everything we know so far about I Am Legend 2.

Updated: November 2022 by Raquel Morales: If you are excited about I Am Legend, you’ll be happy to read this updated article that provides the cast, the plot, the release date, and everything else we know about I Am Legend 2.

I Am Legend 2: The Plot

I Am Legend 2
Warner Bros.

There are some clues as to where the I Am Legend sequel will pick up in both the original novel and in the movie's alternate ending. The film's main theatrical ending is pretty emotional but also one-sided. Neville, having just discovered the cure to the virus and set up a way for his compatriots to escape the mutants banging down the glass door to his lab, sees in the cracking wall between him and the enraged mutants the shape of a butterfly.

Neville's young, late daughter always had a habit of pointing out butterflies, so Neville takes this as a sign that this is the end. He plows himself into the glass, detonating a grenade after the mother and daughter escape with the cure, and this is seemingly the end of his story.

This is where it gets tricky. In both the book and movie, throughout his study of the mutants, Neville discovers that despite trying to slaughter all non-infected humans, they have their own organized society, rules, and relationships. Still, he is too disgusted by them because their existence threatens the resurgence of anything like what he once called humanity to care about.

In the source material, Richard Matheson's novel of the same title, the term "legend" itself speaks more to how Neville's inhumane treatment of the mutants. This includes barbaric experiments and the goal of exterminating them however possible. It has turned him into an outsider, as opposed to how his ultimate cure for their disease will turn him into an icon, as posited by the movie.

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In the book, because the mutants are now the dominant species, and Neville has emphatically turned himself into their mortal enemy, he will become the symbolic legend of violence and annihilation to their people. After this realization, Neville accepts that he will be killed by the mutants and dies without any further desire to destroy them, only himself.

Will Smith's movie, meanwhile, released an alternative ending to appease fans of the novel who were angered by the movie painting Neville as a sacrificial hero. This alternate ending saw Neville coming to these same realizations but not being killed. He is left to live alone with his cruelty and regrets.

So in sum, we have three potential endings to the original film that will drive the sequel: Neville's demise and legacy as the legend who cured the mutants' virus; Neville's demise and legacy as the monster who tried to eradicate the mutants just because they were different from him; and Neville's survival and lifelong guilt for having attempted to eradicate the mutants just because they were different from him.

There are a lot of different possibilities and ways to bend the reality of the first movie's ending to suit a spectacularly fantastic sequel, which seems inevitable. In reality, we will probably see some combination of all these endings that will hopefully knock us right off our feet.

However, this is not the only question that I Am Legend 2 raises. If the film focuses on a world where Will Smith's character, Robert Neville, didn't survive the events of the first part, it's a mystery how Will Smith will appear in the movie. Smith is one of the executive producers, as well as a co-star, so he's not going to step down from the project, which leaves the obvious option of Dr. Neville showing up in flashbacks. If that's the case, they will undoubtedly use digital rejuvenation techniques to return Robert Neville to his pre-apocalyptic image.

There are many possibilities to make I Am Legend 2 a movie that lives up to its predecessor. However, after so many years of waiting, fans have really high expectations that will not be easy to achieve. The only question that remains to be asked is: will the film manage to exceed the expectations placed on it?

I Am Legend 2: The Cast

I Am Legend Robert and Sam
Warner Bros. Pictures

Will Smith reportedly turned down various pitches for I Am Legend sequels until Michael B. Jordan made a pitch. Jordan helped propel the success of movies Black Panther and Creed and will also star with Smith in the film. The sequel will even have the first movie's screenwriter, Akiva Goldsmith, attached to it. Allegedly, Jordan's idea for the sequel film is so "unbelievably cool" that they just had to bring this universe back to the screen, according to one of the film's producers.

These events are particularly significant since the original movie ended on a seemingly final note. Smith's Neville sacrifices himself in a grenade explosion so that the mother and daughter can escape to the last human colony with the cure Neville ultimately discovered. What could Jordon's pitch have been that coaxed Will Smith to revive this story?

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Culturally speaking, the sequel film will likely capitalize on the divide between two societies that want to destroy each other simply because they cannot understand how to communicate and coexist. Hollywood actively leans into society's de-othering of groups and individuals who might be different from what stereotypes or mainstream society suggest.

The source material and the original movie, though it watered down the harsh realities of being one of the few surviving members of an increasing minority species, were way ahead of their time and are filled with useful nuances that can enlighten and guide audiences of today.

Release Date

I Am Legend Robert and Sam
Warner Bros. Pictures

There is no set release date yet for I Am Legend 2. Will Smith, however, teased news of production for the sequel on March 4, 2022. The actor took to Instagram to post a cryptic photo, minus a caption, of a deserted city street, yet fans caught on quickly after another fellow big-name star posted the same exact picture on his social media as well.

At first, the most likely date was next year but considering what happened at this year's Academy Awards gala -- in fact, from that moment, it seems that the news about the film stopped in its tracks -- and the participation of Will Smith in Emancipation, it's safe to say that, at the earliest, I Am Legend 2 will not hit theaters until 2024.

However, the incident at the Academy Awards doesn't seem to be the only reason I Am Legend 2 is delayed. This is a real shame since fans have huge hopes for this movie and can't wait to see what the writers and producers have cooked up!