Two of Hollywood’s biggest stars are set to unite on a major blockbuster sequel.
Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan are teaming up to revive Warner Bros.’ I Am Legend, according to Deadline.
The outlet broke the news, sharing that Smith and Jordan are slated to serve as producers and appear in the follow-up to the post-apocalyptic action thriller.
While most of the details regarding the film’s plot and characters are under wraps, I Am Legend’s original screenwriter Akiva Goldsman is set to return. Goldsman, an Oscar winner, adapted the 1954 book of the same name for the big screen. He’s set to produce the sequel as well.
Francis Lawrence directed the original, however, it’s unclear whether he will return. Deadline reports the film is still searching for a director.
Upon its release in 2007, I Am Legend grossed over $77 million during its opening weekend in theaters. It was Smith’s seventh consecutive No. 1 movie and would later go on to sell $256 million in box office sales. Internationally, it brought in an additional $329 million, bringing its total to a whopping $585 million worldwide, according to IMDB.com.
Within the original, Smith played an Army virologist named Robert Neville. After a plague wipes out most of mankind, Neville must continue to survive and develop a cure in a desolate New York City before bloodthirsty mutants kill him.
IMDB states Smith won a Saturn Award for his performance, an MTV Movie Award, and a Teen Choice Award.
In a 2007 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Smith spoke about the movie having potential for success. “There’s a sweet spot I’ve been chasing in my career,” Smith said at the time. ”Gladiator, Forrest Gump — these are movies with wonderful, audience-pleasing elements but also uncompromised artistic value. I Am Legend always felt like it had those possibilities to me.”
“With The Pursuit of Happyness, I turned a corner,” he added. ”My movies need to mean something. I Am Legend is essentially the story of Job, the idea that life is awful if you can’t connect to the possibility that there’s a reason for everything. To have those ideas at work in a movie with special effects — that’s magic.”
Smith took to Instagram to share the news, tagging Jordan in the photo. Check it out below: