Many movies don’t need a sequel, but usually, they come nonetheless. In the case of I Am Legend, the original Will Smith movie seemed to end on a pretty final note that didn’t require a second film, and it appears that Smith was one of those who had no interest in returning to the movie again. However, the actor has now revealed that he was all for rejecting I Am Legend 2, but it was Michael B. Jordan’s pitch that sold it to him.

I Am Legend was released in 2007 and pulled in a massive $585 million from its $77 budget, making it just one of the gigantic hits in Smith’s long list of credits. The film was adapted from the Richard Matheson novel of the same name and told the story of scientist Robert Neville, who finds himself as one of the last people on Earth, with the rest of the population being mutated into vampires by a plague. Neville attempts to find a cure while staying alive in a desolate New York City and ultimately gives his life to try and take down the monster threat.

While speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Smith revealed that his mind was changed about a sequel purely based on Jordan’s idea, although he cannot disclose exactly what the idea is just yet. He said:

“The idea came up. I can’t talk about it yet. But it’s a really, really cool concept and [Michael B. Jordan] was a part of creating the idea. It was one of those I was gonna leave alone, and then I head the idea. But that might work, I think we can do that.”

I Am Legend 2 Will Need to Change The Narrative to See Will Smith Return

The original theatrical release of I Am Legend saw Will Smith’s character take his life with a grenade to stop the vampires and save the cure for the plague. Matheson’s original book and an alternate ending released with the two-disc special edition DVD in 2008; however, both saw the character of Neville surviving the end of the movie and being reunited with other characters as they headed out to look for fellow survivors with hope. Whether this is something that ties in with the new film is something that we don’t know yet, but it seems unlikely the original ending can stand depending on Smith’s involvement in the film.

Over the years, other movies have retconned their own endings, and recently we have seen a lot of sequels cutting out whole franchises to retell a story from the beginning, such as Halloween. When Ash Vs Evil Dead came out, it had to decide which of its alternative endings to carry on from Evil Dead: Army of Darkness. It is entirely possible that the film will choose to revisit the movie’s ending with a new spin or find some other way to play it, but either way, it will be an intriguing prospect for the future. There is no current filming date set for the project, so it will likely be another year or two before I Am Legend 2 makes its debut in cinemas.