Warners Plans I Am Legend Prequel

PullMyFinger!

I found the first one very underwhelming tbh.


Source: Variety

SPOILER WARNING! SPOILERS ABOUND! (If you havent seen the first one)

Thought you’d seen the last of Will Smith’s Dr. Robert Neville? After all, at the end of 2007’s I Am Legend, the good doctor and former self-styled Last Man On Earth was splattered all over his lab – along with a gaggle of mutant nasties – courtesy of a self-sacrificial hand grenade.

Kaboom. Franchise? What franchise?

Yet Warner Bros. has $584,151,304 reasons to bring Neville back for another I Am Legend, and today they announced plans to do just that, with Smith, director Francis Lawrence, and producer, Akiva Goldsman all returning. How so? Are you ready to say the magic word?

Prequel.

Yes, screenwriter D. B. Weiss has been commissioned to write a script for a movie that will chronicle the last days of the population of New York as millions either succumb to the virus that wipes out mankind, or become the mutants that force Smith’s sole survivor to hole up in a reinforced Manhattan townhouse by night.

The script will be based on a detailed outline that has been worked up by Smith, Lawrence, Goldsman and Smith’s producing partner, James Lassiter. It’s not clear yet how much of the story, if anything, will be based on the Richard Matheson novel that started it all. Nor is it clear yet what the title will be: I Will Be Legend? I Am Going To Be Legend? I’m Not Legend Just Yet But Give Me Five Minutes?

We’re big fans of Smith here at Empire, but this seems like a baffling move to us. I Am Legend had its flaws, but it told the story of how Neville came to be alone in New York with admirable economy. Do we really need to have those blanks filled in? How much dramatic tension can there be in telling a story where the outcome is so pre-ordained? At least, with the Star Wars prequels, we knew the who of Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader, but we didn’t know the why, the how, or the where.

On the other hand, this could be a very commendable move on the part of all parties. After all, a straight-ahead sequel would have been easier to mount, albeit without Smith (who could still have appeared in flashbacks). Just introduce new survivors, pit them against a new breed of mutant and Bob’s your uncle.

But in going back and committing to telling a story that can only end with the protagonist going slowly insane, alone, in a ghostly New York City, Smith & Co. might be making a gutsy move. Could this, in fact, be the biggest feel-bad movie of all time?

brendansmith

PullMyFinger! wrote: »

I found the first one very underwhelming tbh.


Source: Variety

SPOILER WARNING! SPOILERS ABOUND! (If you havent seen the first one)

Yeah me too, was really looking forward to it then it dissapointed royally. Luckily 'no country for old men' and 'american Ganster' came out at the same time so they made up for it:D

Tusky

They completely messed up I Am Legend. Done well, it could have been an absolutely fantastic film. Ive never read a book that was begging to be made into a film more than I Am Legend. It was cack though.

A Prequel ? I wont be going to see it.

madrab

brendansmith wrote: »

Yeah me too, was really looking forward to it then it dissapointed royally. Luckily 'no country for old men' and 'american Ganster' came out at the same time so they made up for it:D

Considering i didnt like either of those movies it was a total dissappointment for me :-(

Jack B. Badd

I want to punch several people on behalf of Richard Matheson... :mad:

Dman001

Am I the only one who thought it was a pretty good film? It wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be.

MagicMarker

A prequel could be good in a action/disaster/zombie movie type of film that's somewhat disassociated from I Am Legend. But that would suck because we all know how it ends!

Karl Hungus

MagicMarker wrote: »

A prequel could be good in a action/disaster/zombie movie type of film that's somewhat disassociated from I Am Legend. But that would suck because we all know how it ends!

So what, we knew how Memento ended right from the get go? I think it would be worth a watch regardless, and hopefully we'll have less rubbish looking CGI monstards this time.

Dman001 wrote: »

Am I the only one who thought it was a pretty good film? It wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be.

You're not alone. I distanced it in my mind from the source material, and managed to really enjoy despite a lot of it's obvious failings.

MagicMarker

Karl Hungus wrote: »

So what, we knew how Memento ended right from the get go? I think it would be worth a watch regardless, and hopefully we'll have less rubbish looking CGI monstards this time.

Yeah but Momento sucks;)

Agreed on the CGI monsters, god that was bad! No monsters would have been better!