I Am Legend 2: Michael B. Jordan “Excited” to Act Alongside Will Smith

While the script for the long-awaited sequel to I Am Legend is still not complete, star Michael B. Jordan is excited for the project, and said during a recent interview that he can’t wait to act opposite Will Smith. Smith, the Academy Award-winning star of Independence Day and Men in Black, has been out making the rounds in support of Bad Boys: Ride or Die — but it’s Jordan, talking up a recent brand deal with Propel Fitness Water, who was quizzed about I Am Legend 2. 

The Creed star grew up during the heyday of Smith’s blockbuster era, so he has always been a fan.

“We’re still working on the script and getting that up to par,” Jordan told People. “It doesn’t have a release date or anything like that. I’m not sure exactly where we’re going to be filming that one, but I’m really excited to get in front of the camera with him. Being somebody that I’ve looked up to for a really long time, to be able to work with Will is something I’m really looking forward to. I’m really excited.”

Jordan is currently working on an as-yet-unnamed vampire movie, which reteams him with Creed and Black Panther filmmaker Ryan Coogler. The star is also reportedly attached to a Superman movie from J. J. Abrams, although that film seems to be trapped in development limbo at this point — not quite canceled, but very little movement since it was announced.

Based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name, the 2007 film starred Smith as virologist Robert Neville, seemingly the sole survivor of a man-made plague and immune to the virus that turned the infected into the vampire-like Darkseekers. In the theatrical cut of the movie, Neville successfully developed a cure, but died before he could use it. The I Am Legend sequel will continue from the scrapped original ending included as an alternate ending on the DVD release. In that ending, Smith’s character survived and became legend among the Darkseekers for his experiments on the living-infected.

It’s following up on that ending that gives them the flexibility to bring Neville back, so he can share the screen with Jordan. It’s presumed that Jordan will be an ally in the film, although obviously he has played villains before, most notably in Black Panther.