6. Ridley Scott's I Am Legend
What Could Have Been: Active development of I Am Legend began as far back as 1995, with Mark Protosevich hired to write the script. In early 1997, director Ridley Scott and star Arnold Schwarzenegger boarded the project with production slated to begin that September in Texas. Extensive rewrites saw the script take on a more cerebral, psychological and horror-influenced aspect, which had studio executives in a panic over the commercial viability of the project. The complicated logistics of creating the sets and special effects pushed the budget up to almost $110m, and these budgetary concerns ultimately saw I Am Legend shelved altogether in March 1998.
What We Got Instead: Will Smith had been circling the project since 2002 but didn't officially sign on until April 2006, with Francis Lawrence behind the camera of the $150m production. The first hour of the film is brilliant, with Smith single-handedly holding the audience's attention as the last man on Earth in one of the best performances in his career, who may or may not be insane. However, some of the CGI is terribly distracting and by the final act any underlying themes are forgotten in favor of a typical blockbuster showdown between hero and villains. Nonetheless, I Am Legend was a huge success and earned over $585m at the box office.
The Verdict: There's no doubting that seeing a post-apocalyptic city through the eyes of Ridley Scott would have been a visually stunning experience with the overlapping elements of drama, horror and action falling right in his wheelhouse. However, despite his undoubted charisma and screen presence Arnold Schwarzenegger simply isn't a good enough actor to be the only man on screen for an hour of self-reflection, not when his persona is built on gunfights and one-liners. The 2007 movie is a standard Hollywood blockbuster enhanced by Will Smith's bravura performance, but Scott's version would likely have been more interesting at least.