This is old news but trade mag Variety is just about catching up with the rest of us. Two months ago director Francis Lawrence declared his wish to all and sundry at the Comic Con to make an "I Am Legend Prequel". Warner Bros. have got around to officially green-lighting the project after the Will Smith-starring Last Man on Earth gig grossed $584 million internationally.
Lawrence, after the apparent collapse of his "Constantine" sequel, will be returning to direct and Will Smith will reprise the role of Dr. Robert Neville, as well as co-producing with his Overbrook Entertainment partner James Lassiter and the original movie's producer Akiva Goldsman.
So what can we expect? Well, the screenplay has been penned by D.B. Weiss from an original brainstorming session from Smith, Goldsman, Lassiter and Lawrence, which covered the final days of humanity in New York City before the Reaper virus took hold and decimated the population of the city leaving Neville alone to fend for himself against hordes of bloodthirsty mutants.