I Am Legend 2 has just been confirmed to still be in development at Warner Bros. and is set to star Will Smith’s return as Dr. Robert Neville along with casting Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan in a mystery role. Upon the big reveal of where the sequel’s timeline stands, writer/producer Akiva Goldsman also opened up on how HBO’s The Last of Us inspired the sequel to come to fruition.
“[I Am Legend 2] will start a few decades later than the first — I’m obsessed with The Last of Us, where we see the world just post-apocalypse but also after a 20-30-year lapse.” I Am Legend writer/producer told Deadline, “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?”
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There is no denying that showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin have reached quite a feat in their bold game-accurate adaptation of the Naughty Dog video game. Apart from the major record-breaking of the series up to its most recent The Last of Us Episode 5 on the streaming site, the video game adaptation has even inspired the I Am Legend sequel.
According to Goldsman, the I Am Legend sequel will feature the alternative ending of the original source material’s author Richard Matheson set in his 1954 novel. What inspired the writer/producer from The Last of Us is to answer the question, ‘What happens once man’s time on the planet as the dominant species comes to an end?’
Interestingly, the alternate ending will bring back the protagonist to life, in which he manages to deliver and spread the cure, which is pretty similar to what the plot of The Last of Us is centered on, with Ellie as the potential cure for the Infected.
The Last of Us Episode 6 is expected to be released on HBO Max this Sunday, on February 19.
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