Will Smith talks I Am Legend sequel and why he passed on Django Unchained

It was interesting that Will Smith passed on DJANGO UNCHAINED. He nearly had it in the bag, then all of a sudden drops out. Now that you’ve seen Jamie Foxx in the trailer, do you even care why Smith left?

Here’s what he told Empire, “I came really close, it was one of the most amazing screenplays I had ever ever seen. I was in the middle of ‘Men In Black 3’ and [Tarantino] was ready to go, and I just couldn’t sit with him and get through the issues, so I didn’t want to hold him up. That thing’s going to be ridiculous. It is a genius screenplay.”

Then in another interview with BBC News, Smith spoke about the sequel for I AM LEGEND and the fact that it may not be for him.

“Producers are working on it,” Smith told BBC News (via EurWeb). “I’m not actually working on it. If it’s great, I’m into it.” When asked if there was a good chance he’d reconsider, Smith confesses, “Probably not.” This is odd, considering that this would only work if they ended on the alternate ending or a Scooby Doo ending or a flashback. Unless he just wants to produce.

Smith also isn’t interested in continuing to do sequels for his films,
“I don’t want to be the sequel guy,” he recently said. “I figure I’ve got about six or seven more years where I can run and jump a little bit and then I’m going butt and gut for the rest of my career. Butt and gut.”

But then this happened, “That said, Smith isn’t ruling out a “Men in Black 4″ (or “Bad Boys 3″ and “Hancock 2,” for that matter). He would consider the projects only if there was a “groundswell of support” from fans and if, in the case of “MiB 3,” “people love this one.”

He doesn’t want to be the sequel guy, but wouldn’t rule out pointless sequels in other franchises. Whatever you say, good sir.