Contents
Summary
- The alternate ending of I Am Legend is truer to the original novel and provides a deeper understanding of the infected.
- The alternate ending reveals that the infected creatures are self-aware, intelligent, and have feelings, causing Neville to question his own morality.
- I Am Legend 2 will follow the alternate ending, allowing Will Smith’s character to survive and continue the story in a new direction.
The alternate ending of I Am Legend explained a lot more about the infected than the theatrical version, was much truer to Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel, and made the rest of the movie much deeper. The alternate ending was first revealed when I Am Legend was released on DVD, and immediately many viewers remarked that it felt superior to the finale that made it into I Am Legend. Clearly, director Francis Lawrence felt the same, as I Am Legend 2 will be following the alternate ending to I Am Legend rather than the original. What’s more, Warner Bros. has made the I Am Legend alternate cut available to stream. This has of course led to many questions about what happens in I Am Legend’s alternate ending that makes it necessary to set up I Am Legend 2, and why it wasn’t used in the first place.
I Am Legend had an ending that divided audiences. Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend is one of the most highly regarded works of apocalyptic fiction to date, one that was adapted twice before the 2007 Will Smith version. One big part of the I Am Legend book that’s never been adapted faithfully is its ending. The end of the I Am Legend novel sees Robert Neville die by his own hand, and reveals the infected have formed their own society and view Neville as a monster — a boogeyman they fear and loathe due to his killing of their species. The Will Smith I Am Legend once again failed to replicate this ending, but its alternate conclusion is much closer to the book’s message. However, the alternate ending of I Am Legend has a very different fate for Will Smith’s Robert Neville than either the theatrical cut or Matheson’s novel, one that directly sets up I Am Legend 2.
I Am Legend’s Alternate Ending Explained
The alternate ending to I Am Legend is completely different to the theatrical version in many ways. However, the I Am Legend alternate ending has a key difference to the original that may explain why Warner Bros. and Francis Lawrence have opted to make this the canon version — Will Smith survives. In I Am Legend‘s alternate ending, Robert Neville learns that the infected are self-aware, possess a degree of intelligence, and — most importantly — have feelings. The revelation that shocks Neville to his core, however, is that the Darkseekers are terrified of him. The violence shown by the infected towards Robert is, from their perspective, out of necessity. The vampire-like creatures are attacking his home not to kill him, but to save one of their own. Their assault is a rescue mission to free the infected female that Neville abducted as a test subject.
The moral weight of Neville’s relentless experiments to find a cure for the virus is the focal point of the I Am Legend alternate ending. Realizing that the creatures are still intelligent, have a form of communication, and have developed their own society, Neville lets his test subject rejoin her kin. He never says so out loud, but he seemingly realizes that he has become a monster to the Darkseekers too (just as in the book). However, the realization is what causes Will Smith’s character to survive in the alternate I Am Legend ending. The infected retreat, meaning there’s no need for him to sacrifice himself. In this ending to I Am Legend Neville doesn’t die but abandons his research. He takes the cure and heads to Vermont a changed man, with Anna and Ethan in tow.
Why The I Am Legend Alternate Ending Wasn’t Used
The alternate ending to I Am Legend is of course vastly different from the one that made it into the movie. I Am Legend‘s original ending in the theatrical cut sees Will Smith’s character holed up in his laboratory as he attempts to find a cure for the virus. As he discovers a solution to the infected’s condition, the creatures storm his house. Neville ultimately sacrifices himself to take out the monsters and allow fellow survivors, Anna and Ethan, to escape. Anna and Ethan then set out to find a colony of survivors while taking a sample of Neville’s cure, implying that humanity is saved. While this ending to I Am Legend maintains the adaptation of Neville dying by suicide, it completely disregards the novel’s original reasons for him doing so, as he never realizes that he’s unwittingly become the world’s villain.
The I Am Legend alternate ending wasn’t used in the final cut for multiple reasons. The theatrical cut made several changes from early drafts, including a version in which I Am Legend‘s dog survives. Ultimately the final ending for I Am Legend was chosen based on audience reception, with the “Will Smith dies” scenario being responded to most favorably. The theatrical ending to I Am Legend was controversial among fans of Richard Matheson’s novel, however, as they felt it failed to thematically capture what made the ending to the book so poignant.
The narrative may be closer to the I Am Legend novel in terms of Robert Neville dying, but it arguably misses the philosophical point of a story that’s about morality more than it’s about zombies. While the alternate I Am Legend ending is still far from the book, it’s much closer in spirit, as Neville learns that he isn’t quite as righteous as he thought. Unfortunately, as revealed by director Francis Lawrence, the reason the I Am Legend twist ending was changed to the more heroic one seen in theaters after test audiences had intensely negative reactions to an ending that paints Robert Neville as the villain.
I Am Legend 2 Will Follow The I Am Legend Alternate Ending
Ever since I Am Legend 2 was announced with Will Smith returning alongside new cast member Michael B. Jordan, there were a lot of questions. Since Robert Neville died at the end of I 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 making the I Am Legend alternate ending the canon finale there are no narrative complexities to Robert Neville being in the sequel. I Am Legend 2 will continue the story where the alternate ending left off rather than the theatrical cut, showing what Robert Neville did after he survived Manhattan and fled with the cure.
While the alternate I Am Legend ending explains how Will Smith returns for the sequel, it still leaves a lot of questions I Am Legend 2 must answer. If Neville had the cure, did he give it to the rest of the survivors or infected mutants, or did he realize they should be left alone in the lives they built? There is also the question of where the tension in I Am Legend 2 comes from since the infected are revealed to not be a threat in the new I Am Legend ending. Perhaps Neville becomes their protector against other humans that don’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 stopping him from killing the infected.