The 'I Am Legend' sequel will feature a time jump inspired by the post-apocalyptic landscape of 'The Last of Us,' producer says

• Producer Akiva Goldsman said the "I Am Legend" sequel will draw inspiration from "The Last of Us."
• He told Deadline the sequel will take place several decades after the first, and is based on an alternate ending.

The sequel to 2007 sci-fi flick "I Am Legend" will be inspired at least in part by HBO's "The Last of Us," according to writer-producer Akiva Goldsman.

Deadline reported on Wednesday that Goldsman's production company Weed Road had signed a multi-year first-look deal with Warner Bros., and is starting on two projects: a sequel to "I Am Legend" starring Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan, and a sequel to "Constantine" featuring Keanu Reeves.

According to Goldsman, the "I Am Legend" sequel will be a continuation of the film's alternate ending, in which Will Smith's character doesn't die. It will also feature a time jump from the original film and take inspiration from HBO's fungal apocalyptic drama based on the video game of the same name.

"This will start a few decades later than the first," Goldsman told the outlet. "I'm obsessed with 'The Last of Us,' where we see the world not just post-apocalypse but also after a 20-30-year lapse. You see how the earth reclaims the world, and there's something beautiful in the question of, as man steps away from being the primary tenant, what happens?"

"I Am Legend" takes place after a virus, initially deployed as a cancer cure, has killed most of mankind and turned others into mutants. Will Smith plays virologist Robert Neville, who works to develop a cure for the virus while surviving in an abandoned Manhattan several years after the initial outbreak.

"The Last of Us," in contrast, showcases both the outbreak of the fungal cordyceps pandemic as well as human society two decades after the fact. As production designer John Paino told Insider, the show's world is generally one of "desiccation, decay, and ruin," showing the ways that nature has reclaimed cities like Boston.

Goldsman told Deadline that he images the nature-reclaiming themes to be "especially visual" in cities like New York, where the original "I Am Legend" takes place.

"I don't know if they'll climb up to the Empire State Building, but the possibilities are endless," Goldsman said.