With his Men In Black III crossing the $500 million worldwide gross mark today, Will Smith‘s return after a four-year absence can at least be considered a financial success. As he recently wrapped M. Night Shyamalan‘s sci-fi epic After Earth, the actor has yet to decide on his next project. With new reports, one thing is for certain: it won’t likely be a follow-up to his 2007 hit I Am Legend.
Talk of a sequel to Francis Lawrence‘s post-apocalyptic drama has sprouted up regularly, most recently as early as this year, when WB confirmed a deal was closed to develop the film and intentions to get Smith to return to role as Robert Neville. Since he was a scientist who sacrifices himself for the betterment of humankind during the finale, the major question is how they will continue the story as it is reportedly “not being called a prequel.”
Smith recently spoke with Eurweb (via Movies.com) and said that while “producers are working on it,” he is not. Unless it’s “great” the actor said, he doesn’t “want to be the sequel guy,” adding “I figure I’ve got about six or seven more years where I can run and jump a little bit and then I’m going butt and gut for the rest of my career. Butt and gut.”
So, despite not being interested in franchises, his rumored projects are full of them including I, Robot 2, Bad Boys 3, Hancock 2 and even back-to-back Independence Day sequels. When it comes to Legend, only a “groundswell of support” will get him to come back for this one. It looks like it’s time to put this one on the backburner.
Do you want to see Smith in an Legend sequel? What should be his next project?