I Am Legend 2 Story Tease Hints Smith's Return Is Bigger Than A Retcon

screenrant.com:

The news that I Am Legend 2 has an "unbelievably cool” premise hints at the possibility that the sequel will do more than merely retcon the existing ending of I Am Legend. 2007’sI Am Legend seems like a tricky movie to follow up with a sequel after an infamous change to I Am Legend’s original novel ending. This saw the movie adaptation of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror kill Will Smith’s heroic loner, Dr. Robert Neville, with the doctor sacrificing himself to ensure that a cure for a widespread zombie-like virus made it out of New York.

However, the long-awaited I Am Legend 2 is in the works, and Smith is returning, meaning the sequel will at the very least need to retcon the ending of I Am Legend. That said, I Am Legend 2 producer John Mone recently claimed that Smith, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, and new star Michael B Jordan came up with something "unbelievably cool" for the sequel. As a result, these comments could imply that I Am Legend 2 may do more than merely continue on from I Am Legend’s alternate ending.

Related: How I Am Legend 2 Can Bring Back Will Smith's Neville (Without Resurrecting Him)

In the alternate ending’s version of events, Neville doesn’t die but rather discovers that the “monsters” he has been hunting are sentient beings with thoughts and feelings. I Am Legend’s big twist proves its scientist antihero has secretly been a mythical villain to them all along, in line with the source novel’s ending. This would be an easy point to pick up the story from, but Mone’s tease that I Am Legend 2’s story will be something "unbelievably cool" suggests it may attempt something more ambitious than simply following on from this alternate ending. In this way, there is a chance that Smith’s character could be