A new fan trailer from the talented Billy Crammer has surfaced recently imagining how a sequel to 2007 vampire movie I Am Legend might end up looking. Based on the Richard Matheson novel of the same name that’s probably the second-most influential vampire book ever written, the story follows Robert Neville, an army virologist and Last Man On Earth as he attempts to synthesize a cure for the plague of vampirism that has destroyed the world.
Imagining how the film might be belatedly followed up over a decade after its original release, the trailer uses less recognizable shots from the original movie to recreate the feel of its atmosphere and shaky CGI, while also repurposing footage from the Smith-starring misfire Gemini Man and abysmal DTV zombie horror Patient Zero. It’s another impressive effort from Crammer and you can check it out up above.
The “sequel” is intended to follow on from the ending of the director’s cut, in which Neville is crucially still alive as the credits roll. In it, it’s revealed that the vampires (or darkseekers, as the film ludicrously designates them) still retain their humanity, leading Neville to the realization that he’s become the villain of the story, experimenting on sentient and emotional beings without remorse after hunting, kidnapping and killing them.
This was the film’s original ending, but was changed after a negative response from test audiences. It’s also far closer to the book’s ending (which culminates with Neville having such an epiphany right as he’s about to be executed for his crimes) and is the entire point of its title.
In spite of mixed reviews and lackluster audience reactions, a sequel to I Am Legend was originally mooted due to its financial success, but never came to pass due to “dumb” pitches involving Neville’s resurrection or a prequel that would have been entirely uninteresting. As skillfully edited as this trailer is and as intriguing as it makes a potential sequel look, it’s still a concept probably best left to languish in its semi-obscure mediocrity.
