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Perhaps Will Smith’s I Am Legend character, Dr. Robert Neville, didn’t die after all.
Back in March 2022, Smith was confirmed to play in the sequel I Am Legend 2, but it was unclear how he’d reprise his role after dying at the end of the 2007 film.
Now, while speaking at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, Smith finally gave an update as to how he’s being resurrected, pointing to the DVD’s alternate ending in which he survives.
“We’re going with the mythology of the DVD version where my character lives, and I can’t tell you anymore,” he explained, according to Vulture.
The DVD’s ending sees Dr. Neville’s realization that the zombies he’s been fighting aren’t mindless and have sensibilities. As they descend on him, their only goal is to get the infected female that Neville retrieved as a test subject and not to kill him. The alternative ending is also closer to the book, as his enemies view him as a monster and vice versa, but they still show him mercy.
Smith was careful not to divulge much other information while at the festival but did reveal he’s got a call with Michael B. Jordan soon, as the script had just been completed.
“I have a call with Michael B. Jordan tomorrow. We’re really close,” he said. “I am probably giving up too much information … the script just came in.”
Back in 2022, Deadline reported that Smith and Michael B. Jordan would be acting and producing the apocalyptic film together.
He told Entertainment Tonight that he wasn’t interested in returning to the role initially, but after hearing Jordan’s idea for the plot, he changed his mind.
“The idea came up. I can’t talk about it yet. But it’s a really, really cool concept, and he was a part of creating the idea,” Smith said. “So it was one of those ones I was gonna leave alone, and then I heard the idea. I was like, ‘That might work. I think we can do that.’”
He also confirmed his return by posting a photo of the desolate streets of New York depicted in the film on Instagram.
See below how excited social media is for the sequel and Michael B. Jordan’s role.
