'I Am Legend' to go the Reboot Route

In case it hasn't been made obvious by his general lack of output over the last few years, Will Smith is very choosy which projects he takes part in. This is the same guy who shot down a return for Independence Day 2, a sequel to the film that basically made his entire career. That we got three Men in Black movies out of him is a pretty big deal, but there's another potential franchise he's been holding up for awhile. That would be a sequel to 2007's sci-fi flick, I Am Legend, which Warner Bros. has been trying to move on since and got no support from Smith. Well now they've decided to just write the actor off and push ahead with a complete reboot.

According to Deadline, the studio has bought Gary Graham's screenplay 'A Garden at the End of the World', which they will refashion into an I Am Legend reboot. Described as The Searchers with a sci-fi angle, Warner Bros. sees enough similarities to I Am Legend to go this route. Graham had been working at an Apple store before taking a risk and posting his script to the Black List, where it caught the attention of Hollywood and got him repped by agents. 

This is just the latest attempt by the studio to do something...anything, with I Am Legend since it made nearly $600M seven years ago. Most recently they hired Arash Amel to begin work on a prequel in hopes Smith could be lured back, but obviously that didn't happen and definitely won't now.

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Warner Brothers officially moves forward with sequel to Will Smith's 'I Am Legend'

A sequel to Will Smith's hit I Am Legend appeared to be dead in the water not that long ago, at least according to it's director, Francis Lawrence. Despite what he had to say then, it was pretty obvious that Warner Brothers wasn't about to let their $600M hit just fade away, and talk of a follow-up persisted. Now it appears they are officially set to get moving, as they've closed a deal with super producer Akiva Goldsman and Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment to do another film. But will it be a prequel or a sequel?

It probably doesn't matter, since the rather conclusive finale to the previous movie can always be worked around if need be. The only thing that matters is Smith's presence, which won't be set in stone until he sees a script, which is currently being hammered out by Arish Amel, the writer behind the upcoming Grace Kelly biopic, Grace of Monaco.

Will Smith hasn't been seen on screen since 2008's Seven Pounds, but will re-emerge later this year in Men in Black III. So getting any project with his name attached can be a chore, because at most you're going to get one movie a year out of him. So think about this, he's already prepping After Earth, the M. Night Shyamalan directed film he'll star in with his son, Jaden. Independence Day and Hancock sequels have been floated around as well, so you're already talking three movies that could potentially take precedent.

In other words, don't hold your breath that this will happen anytime soon. [Deadline]

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