I Am Legend’s Batman v Superman Easter Egg: Why Is It There?
Matthew Perez 2007 Will Smith hit I Am Legend features an Easter egg reference to Batman v Superman, despite that movie still being a decade away from happening.
2007 Will Smith hit I Am Legend features an Easter egg reference to Batman v Superman, despite that movie still being a decade away from happening. As an A-list movie star, Smith has made a living off of his likeable personality and quick wit. That said, a common criticism of Smith as an actor is a lack of range, with many arguing that many of his characters boil down to Smith basically playing a version of himself. To some extent that's true, but Smith has also appeared in a number of roles demonstrating that he possesses a wealth of acting talent.
One such role comes in the 2007 sci-fi/horror film I Am Legend, in which Smith plays Dr. Robert Neville, a scientist who for a long time believes himself to be the literal last man on Earth. With his faithful dog Samantha serving as a companion, Robert has spent the years since an apocalyptic plague took hold - turning much of the population into vampire-like creatures dubbed Darkseekers - trying to find a cure.
Grossing nearly $600 million worldwide on a budget of $150 million, I Am Legend was a big success for Warner Bros. However, the film also ended up foreshadowing another big money-maker for the studio, 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
I Am Legend’s Batman v Superman Easter Egg: Why Is It There?
At one point in I Am Legend, Will Smith's Robert Neville is walking through a now desolate Times Square in New York City. One of the things he passes is a billboard sporting a logo that combines the Batman and Superman symbols, seemingly advertising a crossover film. Batman v Superman was far from greenlit when I Am Legend came out, so despite what some may think, this Easter egg wasn't meant to preview a film Warner Bros. was already planning to release.
As confirmed by I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence a few months after the release of Batman v Superman, the Batman/Superman movie logo being included is actually a sort of in-joke. I Am Legend screenwriter and producer Akiva Goldsman had actually been hired to pen the script for a potential Batman/Superman crossover movie in the early 2000s. The project was shelved, and Warner Bros. went on to produce Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, and Bryan Singer's Superman Returns a few years later. Lawrence and Goldsman simply thought it would be fun to pretend that such a crossover film had actually been made in I Am Legend's world.
Neither Lawrence or Goldsman had any idea Batman v Superman would eventually happen when filming I Am Legend, and the fact that it did is just an amusing coincidence. It's also amusing in hindsight that Will Smith would actually go on to himself join the DCEU, playing Deadshot in Suicide Squad just a few months after Batman v Superman's release. Hollywood, it's a small world after all.
