I AM LEGEND News
Rumor has it that Johnny Depp has joined the Will Smith vehicle


June 30, 2006



When Will Smith was cast as the lead in the long-awaited adapted film version of Richard Matheson's I AM LEGEND, it was probably the worst kept secret. After all, his name had been floating around the web for the longest time. Until certain outlets that folks feel are the bible of information put the word out to confirm our story, sources tell blackfilm.com that along with Smith, JOHNNY DEPP has been added to the cast. No telling which role Depp will play, but given his penchant for playing extraordinary weird-like characters, expect a juicy plum part, like the neighbor, now one of the living dead.

Set in Los Angeles after a biological war, the film centers on the sole healthy survivor, a man who finds himself in a battle against nocturnal mutants.

Based on the novel by Richard Matheson, the film will be written by Mark Protosevich. Constantine director Francis Lawrence will helm the film with David Heyman, Akiva Goldsman, Neal Moritz and Erwin Stoff serving as producers.

Matheson's book was adapted twice before. Vincent Price starred in "The Last Man on Earth" and Charlton Heston toplined "The Omega Man".

Shooting will begin in New York at the end of September. Warner Bros. will distribute the film.

According to joblo.com, a production source writes in to report that Depp would NOT be playing the role of Cortman/main villian in the film. Apparently that character (from Mark Protosevich's script) has been excised completely. Depp, we now learn, would be playing a fellow survivor that Smith's character finds named Philip.