Editing I Am Legend (novel) (section)

===Films===
''I Am Legend'' has been adapted into a feature-length film three times, as well as into a direct-to-video feature film called ''[[I Am Omega]]''. Differing from the book, each of them portrays the Neville character as an accomplished scientist. The three adaptations show him finding a remedy and passing it on. Adaptations differ from the novel by setting the events three years after the disaster, instead of happening "in the span of" three years. Also, adaptations are set in the near future, a few years after the film's release, while the novel is set 20 years after its publication date.

{{lang|es-ES|Soy leyenda}} is a short film by Mario Gómez Martín in 1967 intended as a [[student film]] for the Spanish {{lang|es-ES|[[Escuela Oficial de Cinematografía]]}}.
It has been described as the version most pessimist and faithful to the original novel.<ref name="Filmoteca">{{cite web |last1=López |first1=Pablo |title=#DoréEnCasa soy leyenda (Mario Gómez Martín, 1967) |url=https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr:ae77e80e-0804-4fe6-8d7e-28c3db7c6ae8/el-dor--en-casa---soy-leyenda--de-mario-mart-n-g-mez.pdf |publisher=Filmoteca Española |access-date=13 October 2024 |location=Madrid |page=3 |language=es-ES |date=April 2020}}</ref><ref name="Tones">{{cite news |last1=Tones |first1=John |title=La mejor y más fiel adaptación de 'Soy leyenda' es española, de 1967 y acaba de ser resucitada en internet |url=https://www.xataka.com/cine-y-tv/mejor-fiel-adaptacion-soy-leyenda-espanola-1967-acaba-ser-resucitada-internet |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=Xataka |date=19 April 2020 |language=es-ES}}</ref>

====''The Last Man on Earth''====
{{Main|The Last Man on Earth (1964 film)}}
In [[1964 in film|1964]], [[Vincent Price]] starred as Dr. Robert Morgan (rather than "Neville") in ''[[The Last Man on Earth (1964 film)|The Last Man on Earth]]'' (the original title of this [[Italy|Italian]] production was {{lang|it|L'ultimo uomo della Terra}}). Matheson wrote the original screenplay for this adaptation, but due to later rewrites did not wish his name to appear in the credits; as a result, Matheson is credited under the pseudonym "Logan Swanson".<ref name="WiaterBradley2009">{{cite book|first1=Stan |last1=Wiater|first2=Matthew R. |last2=Bradley|first3=Paul |last3=Stuve |title=The Twilight and Other Zones: The Dark Worlds of Richard Matheson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YLsunUB90q4C&pg=PA176|access-date=3 June 2013|year=2009|publisher=Kensington |isbn=978-0-8065-3113-7|pages=177ff}}</ref>

====''The Omega Man''====
{{Main|The Omega Man}}
In [[1971 in film|1971]], a far different version was produced, titled ''[[The Omega Man]]''. It starred [[Charlton Heston]] (as Robert Neville) and [[Anthony Zerbe]]. Matheson had no influence on the screenplay for this film,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/omega_man_the |title=Omega Man, The |website=SF Encyclopedia |access-date=2013-06-03}}</ref> and although the premise remains, it deviates from the novel in several ways, removing the infected people's vampiric characteristics, except their sensitivity to light. In this version, the infected are portrayed as nocturnal, black-robed, [[Albinism|albino]] mutants, known as the Family. Though intelligent, they eschew modern technology, believing it (and those who use it, such as Neville) to be evil and the cause of humanity's downfall.

====''I Am Legend''====
{{Main|I Am Legend (film)}}
In 2007, a third adaptation of the novel was produced, this time titled ''[[I Am Legend (film)|I Am Legend]]''. Directed by [[Francis Lawrence]] and starring [[Will Smith]] as Robert Neville, this film uses both Matheson's novel and the 1971 ''Omega Man'' film as its sources.<ref>End credits: "Based on the screenplay by John & Joyce Corrington, and the novel by Richard Matheson".</ref> This adaptation also deviates significantly from the novel. In this version, the infection is caused by a vaccine originally intended to cure [[cancer]]. Some vampiric elements are retained, such as sensitivity to [[Ultraviolet|UV light]] and attraction to blood. The infected are portrayed as nocturnal, feral creatures of limited intelligence who hunt the uninfected with [[berserker]]-like rage. Other creatures, such as dogs, are also infected by the virus. The ending of the film was also altered to portray Neville as sacrificing his life to save humanity, rather than being executed for crimes against the surviving vampiric humans, although a deleted ending for the film was closer in spirit to the book.<ref name="books.google.co.uk"/> The film takes place in New York City in 2009 and 2012 rather than Los Angeles in 1975–1977.