I Am Legend 2 Rights Sealed Up
Source: ShockTillYouDrop.com
January 3, 2008

Given the box office figures, this shouldn't come as any surprise.

An inside source, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells ShockTillYouDrop.com author Richard Matheson has signed off on sequel rights for the smash hit I Am Legend. Matheson wrote the original 1954 novel upon which Francis Lawrence's film is based.

This does not necessarily mean a sequel is a "go." It simply gives Warner Bros. peace of mind should they find the right direction to take the story in and opt to move forward on a second chapter. If that does happen, it would be the first time the "Legend" material was sequelized.

Comic Prequel to I Am Legend Revealed

I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, tells the story of the last human man in a world of vampires. But how did the world get to be that way? According to Comic Book Resources, we will have an opportunity to answer that very question in a graphic novel to be put out by DC Comics Vertigo imprint.

The graphic novel will draw upon such creative talents as comic artist Bill Sienkiewicz, screenwriter Mark Protosevich and award-winning science fiction author, Orson Scott Card.

From DC's solicitation for the graphic novel:

A deadly virus has taken hold of the world - rejected by a few (the immune), killing many (the dead), and leaving the rest (the infected) - who live on to hunt the living, after dark. The following are voices paying homage to Richard Matheson's classic novel. This is the experience of a dying mankind and the foretelling of a new world before we meet the legend, Robert Neville.

the sequel will not be a success if Will Smith is not in the movie...

yay i cant wait for it ...

Francis Lawrence Confirms Legend Prequel

Last year, Will Smith starred in an update of Richard Matheson's future shock novel I Am Legend, which became the second-biggest non-sequel of 2007, and ever since then, there's been a lot of rumors and speculation and curiosity whether Warner Bros. would try to do some kind of prequel or sequel to it. (Note: If you haven't seen it or read the book, the next sentence will probably spoil both.) A prequel would be the most obvious because it would mean that Will Smith could return as Dr. Robert Neville, and we'd be able to see more of the time in between the virus being unleashed in New York and where the first movie picks up the story.

Francis Lawrence was at Comic-Con International to talk about the new NBC series "Kings" for which he directed the pilot and the first couple of episodes, and we had a chance to ask him a few questions about the rumor about a prequel, which he confirmed he would definitely be involved with. "Yes, yes, absolutely, we're actually trying to crack that. We're trying to figure out some ideas for it, but yes, it would be a prequel." He did confirm that Will Smith, who's done a couple of sequels in his career, would definitely be into doing more with the character.

The pilot for "Kings" has a lot of great aerial shots of New York City, which is doubling for the city of Shiloh, and talking about that lead to us talking about how it was portrayed in Legend. "Akiva and I really wanted to do 'Legend' in New York, because it's such an iconic city and it's just more striking to see it abandoned than Los Angeles, 'cause honestly, parts of Los Angeles can look abandoned in the middle of the day."

We asked him whether he'd have go through the same things in creating an abandoned New York as he did for I Am Legend and whether it would be easier for a prequel, having already figured out how to do it. "Well, even as we went through them with the movie itself, it got easier. The first time you got out there and shut down 6th Avenue, it's like, 'How are we going to do this day after day after day?' but by the end, it's just like you know how to do it. You got the P.A.'s who know how to shut it down, how to let the traffic through in between set-ups and you just sort of get the routine down, so that's not the issue."

That led directly into Lawrence sharing some interesting ideas that might go into making the proposed prequel: "In the prequel, it's slightly different because it's earlier. We were three years later so we did a lot of research into the way nature would have sort of overtaken the city, with the cracks in the streets and the weeds, so if it's just back earlier, it'll be slightly different so the approach will be different. We're not positive of the time of the year, because if you go in winter, you can do some entirely different kinds of things."

As far as getting Richard Matheson's blessing on this prequel, Lawrence commented, "I'm sure we'll definitely keep him involved in the prequel just in terms of updating him and inviting him to read the script and see what he has to say. Matheson was very happy (with the first movie). It was a great moment when we showed him the movie. He had read the script and I invited him when we were done to see the movie and he brought his family, and I called him when we were on the international junket in Japan and I was really nervous, because it's an adaptation and it's different, and he knew along the way, it's Richard Matheson. He really loved it and I had this great letter from him about it."

I Am Legend Prequel Moving Forward

Variety is confirming what Francis Lawrence told ShockTillYouDop.com at Comic-Con International two months ago, that Warner Bros. is starting to get the ball rolling on a prequel to the 2007 Will Smith blockbuster I Am Legend, which grossed $584 million internationally.

As Lawrence already told us, he'll be returning to direct, and Variety reports that Will Smith will return as Dr. Robert Neville, as well as co-produce with his Overbrook Entertainment partner James Lassiter and the original movie's producer Akiva Goldsman. The screenplay is written by D.B. Weiss based on a detailed outline that was created by the combined forces of Smith, Goldsman, Lassiter and Lawrence, which will cover the final days of humanity in New York City before a man-made virus creates a plague that wipes out the population, leaving Neville alone with the mutated inhabitants.

I Still Be All Legend

While megastar Will Smith dances around what might happen with the intended OLDBOY remake, we're hearing equally disquieting murmurs about what's going on with the planned follow-up to his massive post-apocalyptic flick I AM LEGEND.

Although it was officially announced as a prequel set before the global viral devastation, AICN has caught wind of some changing winds. Word is that the studio wasn't hip to Smith's (and writer D.B. Weiss') ideas for the prequel, which would fill in the gaps in Neville's existence before his lonely New York nights. Apparently instead they want a straight sequel.

How will it be possible to take place after the events of I AM LEGEND, you might ask, when [SPOILERS!] Smith's military scientist appeared to be quite thoroughly immolated? Who knows, but that seems to be what Warner Bros. want either way: more of Smith battling rubbery mutants. Director Francis Lawrence is presumably still involved.