“I Am Legend 2”: Everything We Know About the Sequel to Will Smith's 2007 Post-Apocalyptic Film

The ‘I Am Legend’ sequel was confirmed to be in development in 2022

The legend is officially coming back!

I Am Legend 2, the sequel to the 2007 film, has been in the works since 2022. The movie will once again star Will Smith, who will also be producing and acting alongside Michael B. Jordan, the actor confirmed in March 2022.

The first film told the story of Robert Neville, the sole New York City survivor of a virus that turned humans into zombie-like beings that come out at night. He wanders through Manhattan, seeking other potential survivors and attempting to find a cure using his own immune blood.

I Am Legend 2 will be set decades after the first, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman told Deadline in February 2023, and will focus on a new story.

From the star-studded cast to the potential plot, here’s everything we know so far about I Am Legend 2.

When was I Am Legend 2 announced?

In March 2022, Warner Bros. confirmed that Smith and Jordan would star in and produce I Am Legend 2, per Deadline. The King Richard actor also shared the exciting news himself on his Instagram, posting a deserted street reminiscent of the setting in the first film, merely tagging Jordan in the photo.

Smith previously said in 2012 that he didn’t plan on being involved in a potential sequel, telling BBC Radio 1 that he would “probably not” join.

"Producers are working on it. I'm not actually working on it,” he said at the time. “If it's great, I'm into it. I don't want to be 'the sequel guy.' I figure I've got about six or seven more years.”

However, Smith told Entertainment Tonight in March 2022 that he changed his mind when he heard the idea for the new film.

"It was one of those ones I was gonna leave alone, and then I heard the idea," he said.

Though he didn’t share any plot details, Smith said once he heard the concept, he thought, "That might work. I think we can do that."

"I can't talk about it yet, but it's a really, really cool concept and [Jordan] was a part of creating the idea," he said.

Who is in the cast of I Am Legend 2?

So far, only Smith and Jordan have been confirmed to star in the film. I Am Legend mainly focused on Smith as the main cast member but also starred his daughter, Willow Smith, as well as Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson and Darrell Foster in the supporting cast.

In May 2024, Smith shared an update on the status of the movie and how Jordan may appear. He revealed to Entertainment Tonight that he and Jordan "had a couple weeks together about a month ago."

"I think it's looking good," Smith said. "[We have some] really solid ideas... I think we're going to make it on screen together. That dude is the truth, so I would love to do that.”

What is I Am Legend 2 about?

While specific plot details have yet to be revealed, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman told Deadline in February 2023 that the sequel would take inspiration from HBO’s The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic show about survivors of a deadly virus.

Goldsman told the outlet that the movie would start “a few decades later than the first” but did not clarify Jordan’s role.

"I'm obsessed with The Last of Us, where we see the world just post-apocalypse but also after a 20-, 30-year lapse," Goldsman said. "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."

He added that the “possibilities are endless” for I Am Legend 2 but confirmed he would be sticking closer to the 1954 novel of the same name by Richard Matheson this time around.

"We trace back to the original Matheson book, and the alternate ending as opposed to the released ending in the original film," Goldsman told the outlet. "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," he added.

Who is directing I Am Legend 2?

Though original cast members like Smith and screenwriters like Goldsman have signed on to the new project, a director has not yet been named. Hunger Games’ Francis Lawrence directed the original film, but he has not signed on for the sequel.

Where can I watch I Am Legend?

I Am Legend isn’t available on streaming platforms, but it is available for purchase on YouTube, Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.

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