Will Smith Says He Planned to Leave' I Am Legend' 'Alone' Until He Heard 'Cool' Sequel Idea

Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan are starring in a sequel to the 2007 hit movie I Am Legend

Photo: Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock

Will Smith is revealing how he was persuaded to return to I Am Legend.

The Oscar nominee, 53, played Robert Neville in the 2007 box office hit that was based on the 1954 Richard Matheson novel of the same name. On Friday, Smith revealed that he and Michael B. Jordan will be producing and starring in an I Am Legend sequel together, something he didn't think he'd ever do.

"It was one of those ones I was gonna leave alone, and then I heard the idea," he told Entertainment Tonight.

Though plot details remain secret, Smith added that upon hearing the concept, he thought to himself, "That might work. I think we can do that."

"I can't talk about it yet, but it's a really, really cool concept and [Jordan] was a part of creating the idea," said Smith.

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Akiva Goldsman, who co-wrote the original film, is returning to write the sequel, and a director has not been named yet, according to Deadline.

Smith confirmed the sequel news with an Instagram post of a deserted street, reminiscent of the original 2007 film, tagging Jordan in the photo. "And I ooooppp… 👀👀👀," Jordan's girlfriend Lori Harvey wrote in the comment section.

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The original movie was directed by Red Sparrow filmmaker Francis Lawrence and also starred Alice Braga, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Charlie Tahan and Smith's daughter Willow Smith. The story was about a disease that spread among humans turning them into zombie-like super-beings that hid from sunlight. Scientist Neville was a lone survivor living in New York City, struggling to develop a cure.

When he was promoting Men in Black 3 back in 2012, when an I Am Legend follow-up was being considered, Smith told BBC Radio 1 that he would "probably not" be involved. He said at the time, "Producers are working on it. I'm not actually working on it. If it's great, I'm into it. I don't want to be 'the sequel guy.' I figure I've got about six or seven more years."