Warner Bros has greenlit a prequel to I Am Legend. Will Smith has signed on to reprise his role as Robert Neville, and Francis Lawrence has returned as director. According to Variety, D.B. Weiss (The Game) is writing the script based on a detailed plot outline that was developed over the past few months by Smith, Lawrence, Akiva Goldsman (producer and screenwriter of the original). The prequel will follow Neville in the last days before and after the man-made virus kills/mutates New York City. A sequel was considered, but obviously wouldn’t have been possible without starting over with a completely new lead character/actor. No word on if author Richard Matheson was consulted about the film.
