The original ending to the “I Am Legend” novel by Richard Matheson wraps things up on a darkly poignant note, with Robert Neville realizing that in this new world, he’s the one who has become the monster. With this understanding dawning on him, he decides to end his life before he can be executed by the creatures who now populate the Earth.
It’s an — ahem — legendary ending that horror scribes have been lauding for nearly 60 years. Meanwhile, as many have noted, the theatrical cut of Francis Lawrence’s “I Am Legend” goes directly against the source material, instead making Robert Neville into a self-sacrificing hero.
The filmmaker explained the pressure he felt from the studio brass to make “I Am Legend” into something more palatable but confessed he thinks neither of the two endings was the right choice. “Looking back, I feel like everybody went to see ‘The Last Man on Earth’ and enjoyed it for that reason and would’ve still enjoyed [‘I Am Legend’] with the nihilistic ending,” he said, name-dropping the first film adaptation of the story. That said, with a sequel on the horizon that will be using the alternate ending as a jumping-off point, there is at least a chance that the divisive reaction to “I Am Legend” can be rectified.
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