Michael Bay, as many readers likely know, was the “mastermind” behind confusing, clunky actioners like “The Rock,” “Armageddon,” “The Island,” and five of the “Transformers” movies. He tends to shoot and edit his movies with as much movement as possible, visual clarity be damned. “I Am Legend” would have been a challenge for the director, a test to see if he could scale back his explosive music-video techniques and make a film that is quiet and introspective.
According to Variety, Arnold Schwarzenegger was approached to star in the Ridley Scott version of “I Am Legend,” and stayed attached through his own interest. It seems that Scott’s version would have been too expensive to make, reportedly about $125 million, which was an enormous price tag in 1997. Also according to Variety, execs and higher-ups at CAA were keen to see Will Smith and Michael Bay reteam after “Bad Boys” in 1995. Bay’s films were making huge amounts of money, so having the two together seemed like a sure thing. Incidentally, Bay and Smith would indeed reteam in 2003 to make “Bad Boys II,” which was still in development when the Variety article was written.
The Variety article pointed out that Schwarzenegger’s 1990s hot streak was pretty much over by 2002, having made disappointments like “Eraser,” “Batman & Robin,” “End of Days,” and “The 6th Day” all in a row. Schwarzenegger needed a hit, and “I Am Legend” was going to be it. That, and his then-upcoming “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.”
Schwarzenegger ended up passing on “I Am Legend,” and Bay was dropped at the same time. The project was handed to Akiva Goldsman who re-wrote the script and brought on Francis Lawrence to direct.
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