What happens and why it was cut

The alternate ending of I am legend Explained much 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 alternative I am legend The ending was first revealed on the Will Smith movie DVD release, and quickly became viewed as the superior version. So popular was the alternate ending that the upcoming I am legend 2 will not follow the original, while Warner Bros I am legend Alternative cut available to stream.

However, this means that many now want to know what happens in the I am legend Alternate ending and why it wasn’t used. Despite being adapted several times before, one aspect of the I am legend A book that has never been faithfully adapted is the conclusion. The end of the US I am legend Roman sees Robert Neville die by his own hand, and reveals that the infected are intelligent. What’s more, they fear and lothe Neville due to his killing of their species. While the theatrical average betrays the impressive conclusion, the I am legend Alternate ending stays much true to it.

I am Legend’s alternate ending explained

The alternate ending exposes the infected are not what they seem

One of the reasons I am legend Alternative ending is made canon is because, Unlike the theatrical cut, Will Smith survives. in I am legends Alternate ending, Robert Neville teaches that the infected are self-aware, possess a degree of intelligence, and – most importantly – have feelings. The revelation that shocks Neville to his core is that the infected (who in the book are named Darkseers) are afraid of him. The violence shown by the infected towards Robert was, from their perspective, out of necessity.

The vampire-like infected attacked 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 Virus. I am legend Alternate ending. Neville realized that these creatures were still intelligent, had some form of communication and had developed their own society.

He never says that out loud, though He thinks he has become a monster to the Darkseers too (just like in the book). However, this realization is what causes Will Smith’s character to survive in the alternate queue I am legend ending The original ending had Neville sacrifice himself to save the newly discovered survivors Anna and Ethan. However, with the Darkseekers reunited with their captured relatives in the alternate ending, they simply leave. Neville then takes the cure and heads to Vermont a changed man, with Anna and Ethan in tow.

Why the alternate ending of I Am Legend was not used

Audiences have a hard time accepting Neville as the villain

The I am legend Alternate ending was not used in the final cut for multiple reasons. The theatrical cut made several changes from early drafts, including a version in which Neville’s dog survives. Finally, the final ending for I am legend Was chosen based on audience reception, with the “Will Smith Dies” scenario was responded to most favorably. The theater ends I am legend Was controversial among fans of Richard Matheson’s novel, however, as they felt It failed to thematically capture what made the end of the book so poignant.

The narrative of the theatrical cut may be closer to these I am legend Novel in terms of Robert Neville dies, but it arguably misses the philosophical point of a story that is about morality more than it is about zombies. While the alternative I am legend The ending is still far from the book, it is much closer in spirit, as Neville learns that he is not quite as righteous as he thought.

Unfortunately, as revealed by director Francis Lawrence, the reason I am legend The twist ending was changed to the more heroic one seen in theaters yet Test audiences had intensely negative reactions to an ending that paints Robert Neville as the villain.

I Am Legend 2 will follow the alternate ending of I Am Legend

The sequel will ignore the controversial conclusion of the theatrical cut

Since then I am legend 2 was announced with Will Smith returning alongside new cast member Michael B. Jordan, there have been a lot of questions. Since Robert Neville died at the end of i am legend It would be hard to imagine the return of Will Smith without it simply being flashback scenes (Perhaps via Neville’s video logs).

However, by making these I am legend Alternative ending to the canon finale, there are no narrative complexities to Robert Neville in the sequel. I am legend 2 Will continue the story where the alternative ending is left rather than the theatrical cut, showing why Robert still survived Manhattan and escaped with the cure.

While the alternative I am legend The ending explains how Will Smith returns for the sequel, but 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 mindless threat in the new I am legend ending Perhaps Neville becomes their protector against other humans who do not understand them. However, it could be interesting if the movie leans towards Will Smith as the villain with Michael B. Jordan as the hero stopping him from killing the infected.

I Am Legend has one of the most famous alternate endings ever

However, there are others of note

There are many movies with alternate endings, although few are as well-known or significant as this one I am legend. The fact that I am legend 2 will follow the alternate ending, and for the movie to be re-released on streaming with the new finale is more or less unprecedented. However, there have been several other noteworthy alternative endings to films that have reached similar levels of notoriety.

for example, The butterfly effect Director’s cut completely changes the ending of Eric Bress and J Makye Gruber’s 2004 movie. Released the same year when The butterfly effect Now on DVD, the alternate ending sees the timeline-traveling protagonist, Evan (Ashton Kutcher) meet a tragic fate. Rather than simply changing events so the friends he makes never meet him, Evan instead travels back to the point in his life when he was in the womb. He then proceeds to strangle himself with his own umbilical cord.

It’s an incredibly bleak ending that instantly became a talking point, and to this day there are many who believe that Eric’s suicide in the womb is like the theatrical cut of The butterfly effect Completed. Not every alternate ending gained a reputation due to perceived improvements on the original I am legend Or the butterfly effect, However. Jonathan Lynn’s 1985 movie hints, Based on the board game of the same name, used alternate endings to change the outcome of the plot of the murder mystery comedy.

Clue was released in theaters with three alternate endings to match the experience of playing the board game. The three alternate endings each feature a different cast member being the guilty party, and each also contains an extra murder or two during the big reveal. One even revealed that Tim Carrey’s character, Wadsworth the Butler, was an undercover agent with the FBI.

However, while the end of The butterfly effect And Clue Become talk shows, not influence a potential franchise the same way as the original I am legend End did. For a franchise to reinvent the overarching narrative based on an alternate ending is a bold new frontier, but the positive response already suggests it’s a positive direction for the sequel.