Is I Am Legend 2 Still Coming?
The original, starring Will Smith, came out in 2007. But wait! It wasn’t actually the “original.” Did you know that?
It was The Omega Man (1971), one of the classic Sci-Fi films of the 1970s, starring Charlton Heston. In that film, a disease infected the entire planet, leaving Robert Neville alone as the last man on Earth, fighting hordes of mutated zombies. During his struggle to survive, he realized he was not actually the lone survivor of the apocalypse.
I enjoyed that movie; Heston starred in many Sci-Fi films, such as Planet of the Apes (1968) and Soylent Green.
Timothy S. Johnston’s List of the Best Science Fiction Films of the 1970s
But wait! That wasn’t the original either! Did you know that? It was The Last Man on Earth (1964), starring Vincent Price as Robert Morgan, who was the lone survivor of a plague on Earth which caused the dead to rise from their graves. This was actually the first version of Richard Matheson’s source novel, I Am Legend (1954).
So Will Smith’s version was actually the third version of Matheson’s novel.
Now to the news regarding the sequel to the 2007 film.
Timothy S. Johnston’s List of the Best Science Fiction Films of the 1970s
I Am Legend and the I Am Legend 2 News
Regarding Smith’s I Am Legend, I enjoyed that as well. The action and horror was escalated, it featured strong acting, great action pieces, and Robert Neville’s trusty German Shephard, Sam …
I won’t say more about that here.
I particularly enjoyed the aspects of Neville’s crumbling sanity. There were parts of the movie where he started to question his grip on reality. His quest to cure humanity became equated with that of a killer tormenting and haunting the very group he believed to be the cause of the disease and humanity’s demise. It was an interesting comparison. The images of his “subjects” on the wall in his lab later became a metaphor for his hostile actions against the creatures. They weren’t subjects to study …
… they were his victims.
I Am Legend currently has a 7.2 at IMDB with 876,000 ratings. The Omega Man (1971) has a 6.1 with 36,000 ratings. The Last Man On Earth has a 6.7 with 27,000 ratings.
Here is the trailer for Smith’s film, credit to YouTube channel Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers:
Collider is reporting that Steven Caple Jr. is developing this sequel. He previously directed Creed 2 and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Red Sparrow) directed I Am Legend. You may recall the ending, which effectively eliminated a potential sequel starring Smith, but apparently filmmakers intend to follow the version with the alternate ending, which you can see here (credit to YouTube channel Movieclips):
Are you interested in seeing a sequel to the Smith 2007 action/adventure/horror film? Of the three versions of Richard Matheson’s source novel in 1954, which is your favourite? Let me know in the comments.
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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.
— Timothy S. Johnston, 29 April 2026
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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel
“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop
“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite
“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories
“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest
“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels
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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!
WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.
FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE
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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.
Book Cover & Jacket Copy:
AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!
A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …
Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.
Taunting him.
Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.
If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.
But the assassin could be anyone …
Watch your back, Mac.
A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.
FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE
The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:
The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007
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THE WAR BENEATH: FIRST PLACE 2018 GLOBAL THRILLER Action / Adventure Category Winner, 2019 Silver Falchion Award Finalist, 2018 CLUE Award Semi-Finalist, 2019 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist, & 2019 CYGNUS Award Shortlister
THE SAVAGE DEEPS: FIRST PLACE 2020 CYGNUS Award Winner, 2019 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards Finalist, 2022 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist; 2019 CLUE Award Shortlister
FATAL DEPTH: FIRST PLACE 2021 GLOBAL THRILLER Award Winner, 2022 Silver Falchion Award Finalist (Best Action Adventure), 2021 CYGNUS Award Semi-Finalist
