2007's I Am Legend loosely adapted Richard Matheson's 1954 horror novel of the same name, making so many alterations to the source material that it was right on the boundary of just being an original story. Still, Will Smith's Robert Neville did have something powerful in common with his literary counterpart, but the upcoming sequel has now retroactively changed that as well.
Matheson's original version of I Am Legend is one of those great horror books you can read in one sitting. Clocking in at well under 200 pages, it's perhaps understandable that the movie adaptation had to make so many alterations to fill its runtime. The film getting a sequel is already another massive deviation from Matheson's intentions, as the author never penned a follow-up, and there's a good reason for that.
Robert Neville has now retroactively survived I Am Legend's ending
Smith's character sacrifices himself at the end of I Am Legend, adding an emotional finale to the movie. While the circumstances of Robert Neville's death differ drastically in both versions of the story, it was at least a token effort by the movie to make sure the adaptation honored the book's last moments. However, Smith's upcoming return undoes that homage.
Instead of keeping the original movie's death scene intact, the sequel has opted to canonize I Am Legend's alternate ending, which saw Smith's character survive. It makes sense that an I Am Legend sequel would want Will Smith to be involved, as he's heavily associated with the franchise after the success of the first movie. Unfortunately, it now makes the 2007 project even less like the iconic book it was adapting.
I'm still waiting for a faithful live-action adaptation of I Am Legend
I really like the 2007 I Am Legend movie. I saw it before I read the book, and it inspired me to seek out the source material. I know Hollywood often makes huge changes when adapting a story for the big screen, but I was blown away by how different the two versions were. While the thought of a follow-up to the movie is exciting, I'd be far more interested in seeing Matheson's book hit the screen in a far more faithful way.
Unfortunately, Warner Bros. currently holds the rights to the book, and because it was published in the 1950s, that means it won't enter the public domain until halfway through the 21st century. I don't really see Warner Bros. making a sequel to their version of the story as well as going back and starting from scratch. So, I could be waiting a while to see anyone take on a more book-accurate approach to I Am Legend.