The Success of I Am Legend 2 Could Finally Pave the Way for the Will Smith Sequel Fans Have Been Eagerly Anticipating-nhung

Will Smith in I Am Legend Standing Next to His Dog

Summary

Smith’s return as Robert Neville in I Am Legend 2 generated buzz, hinting at potential for more sequels.
Releasing a sequel 16 years later poses challenges, especially in uncertain post-pandemic theater conditions.
Success of I Am Legend 2 could pave the way for a Hancock sequel, but risks and production hurdles remain.

I’m really hoping I Am Legend 2 works out since it could open the door for the Will Smith sequel I’ve waited 16 years for. Smith’s return to play Robert Neville in a new I Am Legend movie has certainly generated a lot of buzz, indicating that the project has a great deal of potential. If the film, which will also feature Michael B. Jordan, performs as well as is anticipated, then we could see a slew of other movies from Smith in the near future. Hopefully, this would include the long-anticipated sequel to another popular Smith movie of the 2000s—Hancock.

Hancock (2008) was released just a year after I Am Legend and was a fair success at the box office, bringing in $630 million globally. Of course, this was the year that Hollywood’s Superhero Bang began, with Iron Man and The Dark Knight released in 2008 as well. For this reason, it was assumed that Hancock would end up with a sequel, and a script was even put in the works in 2009. Unfortunately, such a film never came to be. Now, 16 years later, Smith’s I Am Legend is getting a sequel instead. While this isn’t the movie I wanted. I’m hoping it’s at least the first step.

I Am Legend 2’s Success Would Make A Will Smith Hancock Sequel More Likely

Hancock 2 Might Just Need A Little Push

There’s a lot of risk involved with releasing a sequel so long after the original. I Am Legend 2 will have quite a challenge to overcome since it must justify its own existence while carrying an old story forward. What’s more, there’s no guarantee that audiences will head to theaters to watch Smith pick up a role from 17 years ago. Predicting the movie’s success is even more complicated, considering theaters have struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic. Until I Am Legend 2 releases, we don’t know whether Smith’s return will be profitable.

Of course, if I Am Legend 2 does well, then a great deal of the unknown will be cleared away for a potential Hancock sequel. There won’t be nearly as much risk, and the production budget and general expectations can be adjusted based on the profitability of I Am Legend 2. The inverse is also true. If Smith’s return to play the post-apocalyptic scientist isn’t successful, then getting Hancock 2 back off the ground likely won’t happen. This is a bit frustrating since Hancock deserved a sequel more than I Am Legend.

I Am Legend 2 is expected to release sometime in 2025.

Hancock Needs A Sequel Way More Than I Am Legend

Hancock Was Better Suited For A Sequel

will smith in hancock with an oscars statue in his glasses

The news that I Am Legend was getting a sequel was a bit of a surprise since the 2007 movie was based on the stand-alone novel of the same name by Richard Matheson. What’s more, Smith’s character died at the end, sacrificing his life so that the world could get a cure for the zombie outbreak. Of course, the upcoming sequel will take a different route, using the original I Am Legend‘s alternative ending (in which Neville lives) to launch Smith’s return. Still, this is a lot of work to make a sequel when Hancock was already perfectly set up for a continued story.

This is a lot of work to make a sequel when Hancock was already perfectly set up for a continued story.

2008’s Hancock was the perfect superhero origin story, and the implication was always that more movies would be forthcoming. Smith’s character was unique among Marvel or DC cinematic heroes, and there was a lot of promising development that could have happened here. While the better part of two decades has come and gone, all of this is still true. It would have made more sense for Hancock 2 to come first and for a potential I Am Legend sequel to then happen depending on the superhero movie’s performance. Unfortunately, that’s not the situation we are in.

Why Will Smith’s Hancock 2 Still Hasn’t Happened

The Stars Haven’t Yet Aligned

Will Smith as Hancock collapsed in the street

While I would love to see a Hancock 2 movie announced in the coming years, it would have been much preferred if it had happened years ago. As previously mentioned, the project was greenlit back in 2009, only a year after Hancock was released. Writers Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara (Dexter and The Shield) were hired to write the script, but nothing ever came of it. According to director Peter Berg (via SlashFilm), creative clashes were to blame for Hancock 2 never happening, with Smith and his agent apparently butting heads with the creatives responsible for the sequel.

With so many problems associated with a Hancock sequel and so much time passed, it’s difficult to say whether the movie will ever happen. My best hope would be the success of I Am Legend 2, which may increase nostalgia for other 2000s films while showing Hollywood that it would be worth the gamble. Only time will tell, but I plan to buy a ticket to see the coming zombie/vampire sequel, even if it’s just to give Hancock 2 its best possible shot.