By Ryan Parsons | Image property of 20th Century Fox.
Will Smith
Talk about a big side of deja vu. After announcing back in September, 2005 that Warner Bros was trying to resurrect I Am Legend after multiple delays, we told our readers the next step would be to find a cast (read here). The film had already taken a shot at both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Will Smith in the starring roles and both didn't seem to work out. Well, it now looks like Warner is ready to take a second shot at Will Smith; but this time without director Michael Bay.
I Am Legend Returns to Smith
According to Variety, Will Smith will star in I Am Legend, the adaptation of the popular novel by author Richard Matheson. A couple years ago it was figured that Michael Bay would direct the film but Constantine director Francis Lawrence has now stepped in to helm.
Smith has a pay-or-play deal to make Legend his next project, after he completes Tonight, He Comes at Sony.
As already mentioned, I Am Legend has a growing history with Warner Bros. The project first teamed director Ridley Scott with Schwarzenegger but the picture house immediately pulled the life support when Warner Bros saw a budget north of $100M. Michael Bay and Will Smith then came in as the replacements but they couldn't get anything rolling.
Warner Bros was able to regain momentum for I Am Legend last fall, when it assigned Francis Lawrence to direct and Akiva Goldsman to rewrite the script and produce. Goldsman has a long working relationship with Smith including I, Robot and Tonight, He Comes.
Set in post-apocalyptic New York, I Am Legend is about the last healthy man following the release of a virus that decimates the population. To survive, he must battle mutants that wreak havoc during the night.
Since Smith has quite the busy schedule working on films such as Greenbacks, It Takes a Thief and Time Share, Warner Bros is hoping to get production rolling on I Am Legend by early 2007.
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