Will Smith is officially returning for I Am Legend 2 and this is how despite dying in original movie

You might think that a character being killed off at the end of a movie or series would rather put a stop to any further appearances from that character.

However, in the case of Will Smith's character from 2007 zombie thriller, I Am Legend, it seems that death is, in fact, not the end when it comes to the big screen.

The actor is set to reprise his role from the 2007 movie in I Am Legend 2, along with Michael B. Jordan, who is also starring in the sequel.

But, the biggest question is how his character going to be resurrected from the dead?

Fans of the movie will, of course, know (spoilers I suppose? it's been 16 years), that Smith's character meets a fiery death at the end of the film.

The climactic conclusion sees him sacrificing himself with a grenade to allow two people to escape with a cure to the zombie disease.

However, it transpires that this is only one of two endings, with an alternative ending providing a more nuanced take on the story.

Warner Bros

In this one, instead of blowing everyone up, Smith's character notices that the zombie attacking him is making a butterfly motion, referencing a tattoo on the neck of the zombie he has been keeping in his house in an attempt to cure her.

He then realises that he has been keeping them apart, and they were only trying to recover one of their own.

After reuniting them, he realises that he's now a monster in the eyes of the zombies and joins his companions on their trek north.

Crucially though, in this version, he survives.

It could be that this version of events is what will lead into the storyline of the next movie.

Warner Bros

According to the film's writer, Akiva Goldman, the sequel will 'start a few decades later than the first'.

Citing his, and everyone else's, obsession with The Last of Us, Goldman said:

"You see how the earth reclaims the world, and there’s something beautiful in the question of, as man steps away from being the primary tenant, what happens?

"That will be especially visual in New York. I don’t know if they’ll climb up to the empire state building, but the possibilities are endless."

And Smith initially wasn't interested in returning to the role but thought the concept was 'really, really cool' - which helped change his mind.

Back in 2022, the Men in Black star said: "The idea came up. I can't talk about it yet. But it's a really, really cool concept, and he [Michael B. Jordan] was a part of creating the idea.

"So it was one of those ones I was gonna leave alone, and then I heard the idea. I was like, 'That might work. I think we can do that'."