10 Unused Film Endings That Were Better Than The Real Thing

4. I Am Legend Had An Ending That Justified The Title

Richard Matheson's I Am Legend has been adapted for the screen umpteen times, but never with the name in tact €“ there was 1964's The Last Man On Earth, and 1971's The Omega Man €“ which was just fine, because other than the conceit of a man trapped in an apocalyptic America where everyone else is vampires, the source material and movies haven't much in common. Then came 2007's I Am Legend, which did use the title, but never actually included the scene that made that title make sense. The Will Smith-starring adaptation is maybe 1/3 of a good movie, until it diverges wildly from the book and has Smith ultimately sacrifice himself to the mindless vampires. The original ending hewed far closer to the book, and was all the stronger for it. It turns out the vampires are only attacking him because he kidnapped and was experimenting on one of their own €“ they were capable of thought and feeling, too, and to the vampires, Smith was the monster. Or...a legend...?