I Am Legend
The alternative ending ofI Am Legendexplained a fortune more about the infected than the theatrical version , was much truer to Richard Matheson ’s 1954 novel , and made the rest of the picture much deeper . The alternateI Am Legendending was first expose on the Will Smith movie’sDVD sacking , and promptly became view as the superscript version . So popular was the alternate ending that the upcomingI Am Legend 2won’t succeed the original , while Warner Bros. has made theI Am Legendalternate cut available to stream .
However , this intend many now desire to know what happens in theI Am Legendalternate ending and why it was n’t used . Despite being adjust several times before , one aspect oftheI Am Legendbookthat ’s never been adapt reliably is the stopping point . The end of theI Am Legendnovel sees Robert Neville become flat by his own hand , and discover the infected are sound . What ’s more , they revere and loathe Neville due to his killing of their species . While the theatrical excision lead astray this impactful conclusion , theI Am Legendalternate ending remain much truer to it .
Will Smith is confirmed to return for I Am Legend 2 , the sequel to the post - revelatory 2007 smash . Here ’s all the I Am Legend 2 tidings so far .
I Am Legend’s Alternate Ending Explained
The Alternate Ending Exposes The Infected Aren’t What They Seem
The violence shown by the taint towards Robert is , from their perspective , out of requisite .
One of the reason theI Am Legendalternate ending has been made canonis because , unlike the theatrical baseball swing , Will Smith outlive . InI Am Legend’salternate end , Robert Neville learns that the infected are ego - cognisant , own a degree of intelligence , and — most importantly — have feelings . The Book of Revelation that outrage Neville to his core is that the infect ( who in the ledger are named Darkseekers ) are terrified of him . The vehemence picture by the infected towards Robert is , from their perspective , out of necessity .
The lamia - comparable infect are attacking his home not to wipe out him , but to save one of their own . Their ravishment is a saving mission to release the infected female that Neville abducted as a test subject . The moral weight of Neville ’s relentless experimentation to find a cure for the virus is the focal power point of theI Am Legendalternate ending . Realizing that the beast are still intelligent , have a form of communication , and have develop their own society , Neville lets his run subject field repay her kin .
He never say so out loud , buthe on the face of it realise that he has become a monstrosity to the Darkseekers too ( just as in the book).However , the realisation is what cause Will Smith ’s character to endure in the alternateI Am Legendending . The original ending has Neville sacrifice himself to save the newly discovered survivors Anna and Ethan . However , with the Darkseekers reunite with their captured kin in the alternate ending , they simply leave . Neville then takes the cure and heads to Vermont a exchange man , with Anna and Ethan in towage .
I Am Legend is now 16 yr old , and though it ’s always worth a rewatch , the years have revealed some uncomfortable truth about the 2007 film .
Why The I Am Legend Alternate Ending Wasn’t Used
Audiences Had A Hard Time Accepting Neville As The Villain
TheI Am Legendalternate conclusion was n’t used in the last cut for multiple reason . The theatrical cutting made several changes from other drafts , include a version in whichNeville ’s domestic dog survives . at last , the final ending forI Am Legendwas opt based on interview reception , with the " Will Smith dies " scenario being answer to most favourably . The theatrical ending toI Am Legendwas controversial among fans of Richard Matheson ’s novel , however , as they feltit fail to thematically capture what made the ending to the book so poignant .
The narrative of the theatrical excision may be close to theI Am Legendnovel in terms of Robert Neville demise , but it arguably pretermit the philosophical decimal point of a tale that ’s about ethics more than it ’s about zombies . While thealternateI Am Legendendingis still far from the book , it ’s much airless in spirit , as Neville learns that he is n’t quite as righteous as he recall .
Unfortunately , as revealed by director Francis Lawrence , the cause theI Am Legendtwist ending was deepen to the more heroic one see in theaters aftertest audiences had intensely negative reaction to an termination that paints Robert Neville as the villain .
Loosely based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name, I Am Legend stars Will Smith as Robert Neville, a virologist who believes himself to be the last human on Earth. After a virus turns most of the world’s population into vampiric creatures known as Darkseekers, Neville finds himself immune. Believing himself to be the last man of Earth, Neville stalks through the ruins of New York, hoping to create an antidote that will save humanity.
I Am Legend 2 can actually make sense if it aligns more closely with the plot of land of Richard Matheson ’s original novel than the first Will Smith motion picture .
The Sequel Will Ignore The Theatrical Cut’s Controversial Conclusion
Ever sinceI Am Legend 2was announcedwith Will Smith returningalongside new cast penis Michael B. Jordan , there have been a great deal of questions . Since Robert Neville died at the last ofI Am Legend , it would be difficult to envisage Will Smith ’s return without it simply being flashback scenes(perhaps via Neville ’s video logs ) .
However , by make theI Am Legendalternate terminate the canyon finale , there are no narrative complexities to Robert Neville being in the continuation . I Am Legend 2will carry on the floor where the alternate ending left off rather than the theatrical cut , show what Robert did after he survived Manhattan and fled with the therapeutic .
While the alternateI Am Legendending excuse how Will Smith returns for the sequel , it still leaves a lot of questionsI Am Legend 2must answer . If Neville had the cure , did he give it to the eternal rest of the survivors or infected mutants , or did he realize they should be left alone in the animation they build ?
There is also the question of where the tension inI Am Legend 2comes from , since the septic are break to not be a mindless scourge in the newI Am Legendending . Perhaps Neville becomes their protector against other man that do n’t understand them . However , it could be interesting if the movie leans into Will Smith as the villain with Michael B. Jordan as the hero sandwich block off him from killing the infected .
I Am Legend Has One Of The Most Famous Alternate Endings Ever
There Are Others Of Note, However
There are many movies with alternate endings , though few are as well known or pregnant asI Am Legend . The fact thatI Am Legend 2will follow the alternative ending , and that the movie was re - bring out on cyclosis with the newfangled finale , is more - or - less unprecedented . However , there have been several other noteworthy substitute conclusion to films that have arrive at similar levels of ill fame .
For example , The Butterfly Effectdirector ’s cutcompletely changes the ending of Eric Bress and J Makye Gruber ’s 2004 moving-picture show . Released the same class whenThe Butterfly Effectarrived on DVD , the alternative end sees the timeline - traveling protagonist , Evan ( Ashton Kutcher ) meet a tragic luck . Rather than simply altering issue so the Quaker he endangers never meet him , Evan instead travels back to the point in his life when he was in the uterus . He then proceeds to stifle himself with his own umbilical cord .
It ’s an fantastically bleak ending that instantly became a talk point , and to this day there are many who consider Eric ’s suicide in the womb is how the theatrical cut ofThe butterfly stroke Effectended . Not every option conclusion gained a report due to perceived improvements on the original likeI Am LegendorThe Butterfly Effect , however . Jonathan Lynn ’s 1985 movieClue , based on the board secret plan of the same name , used alternate endings to change the upshot of the murder mystery comedy ’s plot .
Cluewas released in theaters with three alternative endings to match the experience of playing the board game . The three alternate end each have a dissimilar plaster bandage member being the guilty political party , and each also contains an extra slaying or two during the prominent reveal . One even reveals that Tim Curry ’s character , Wadsworth the Butler , was an cloak-and-dagger agent with the FBI .
However , while the ending ofThe Butterfly EffectandCluebecame talking point , neither regulate a potential dealership the same means that the originalI Am Legendending did . For a enfranchisement to reinvent its overarching narrative found on an alternate ending is a bluff new frontier , but the positive reaction already suggest it ’s a irrefutable direction for the sequel .
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Cast
Loosely base on Richard Matheson ’s 1954 novel of the same name , I Am Legend stars Will Smith as Robert Neville , a virologist who believes himself to be the last homo on Earth . After a virus reverse most of the public ’s population into vampiric beast known as Darkseekers , Neville finds himself resistant . believe himself to be the last human of Earth , Neville stalks through the ruins of New York , hope to make an counterpoison that will salve man .
