Warner Bros Circling Steven Caple Jr. To Direct ‘I Am Legend 2’ – The Dish

EXCLUSIVE: I Am Legend screenwriter and producer Akiva Goldsman teased yesterday there would be big news soon relating to the Warner Bros sequel with Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan, and what we hear is that the studio is taking an interest in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts filmmaker Steven Caple Jr. to direct.

Note it’s very early, and there haven’t been any deal papers drafted yet. Warners has met with a handful of directors, but the hope here is a reteam between Jordan and his Creed II director Caple Jr. I Am Legend 2, which we first told you about, would rep the first time that Smith and Jordan have starred together on-screen.

Goldsman at Comic-Con yesterday said that he had already cracked a second draft for I Am Legend 2 after meeting with Jordan and Smith.

“The world returns in a way that is kind of spectacular – an exciting playground for all of us – not your father’s I Am Legend,” teased the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind scribe.

Goldsman also added that the sequel would pick up after the alternative ending to the Francis Lawrence directed $585.4M-plus grossing 2007 movie where Smith’s character lives and humanity in a zombie ruled world doesn’t go so well.

Jordan and Elizabeth Raposo are producing via their Outlier Society banner. Smith and Westbrook Studios Co-President/Head of Motion Pictures Jon Mone will produce the project, with Ryan Shimazaki overseeing on behalf of Westbrook Studios. James Lassiter will serve as EP. Goldsman and Greg Lessans will also produce via Weed Road Pictures.

Last summer Caple Jr. revived the Transformers franchise for Paramount with the nth sequel, taking it to a $61M opening, $157M domestic take and $438.9M worldwide. The pic’s domestic opening inched out that of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny which was $60.3M, which no one was expecting.

Caple Jr. came to the industry’s attention when his student film A Different Tree won HBO’s Short Film Competition in 2013. He followed this up with his feature directorial debut The Land at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. IFC picked up the title.  

The CAA-repped Caple Jr. is the director of the first two episodes, and is an EP, on the Netflix series Man on Fire based on the A.J. Quinnell books and starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen ll.

Caple Jr. is also repped by Untitled Entertainment, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox.

Warner Bros didn’t return request for comment.