A startling new I Am Legend moving mannequin theory makes I Am Legend 2's Darkseekers an even scarier proposition. First released on December 14th, 2007, I Am Legend opened to highly positive reviews, with critics citing Will Smith's emotional performance and the film's deep themes of civilization and the enduring human spirit. This winning blend of taut action and societal introspection led to I Am Legend grossing a whopping $585 million globally and saw several studios vying to make a sequel - with I Am Legend 2 confirmed as in development some 15 years later in 2022.
Based on Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name, I Am Legend follows US Army virologist Robert Neville (Will Smith) after a virus, which was originally created to cure cancer, has wiped out most of humankind, leaving Neville as the last human in New York to battle a race of infected mutants known as "Darkseekers." The Darkseekers are revealed to be vampiric, cannibalistic creatures with predominantly sub-human intelligence, allowing Neville to capture and experiment on them to find a cure for the virus in I Am Legend.
Yet one new fan theory makes the Darkseekers even scarier ahead of I Am Legend 2's release. Per Reddit user Riddleman56, this new "moving mannequin" idea suggests the Darkseekers are much more intelligent than they appear, evidenced by the Darkseekers tricking Neville with his mannequin friend Fred in I Am Legend. As a result, here's the I Am Legend moving mannequin theory explained, as well as how this theory makes I Am Legend 2's Darkseekers much scarier.
Across the first half of I Am Legend, Neville is shown interacting with inanimate objects and talking to himself due to his loneliness, such as jovially chatting with a video store mannequin named Fred and repeating the movie Shrek line for line to himself. Director Francis Lawrence's film clarifies that Neville looks forward to his visits to the video store, showing Neville having built up an internal narrative for the video store mannequins, including a love story for Fred and a female mannequin.
During I Am Legend's second act, Neville is driving past a ruined Grand Central Station when he notices a figure outside of the terminal entrance, which turns his head to look directly at Neville. Initially shocked and under the impression it could be another surviving human, Neville is dismayed as he approaches and realizes it is Fred, with Neville screaming futile questions at the mannequin. Neville's emotional reaction to seeing Fred deprives him of his usual survival skills, allowing Neville to be caught in a net akin to his own traps - which directly leads to the death of his beloved dog Sam.
The movements of Fred's head towards the camera, coupled with his new positioning outside of Grand Central Station, seem to suggest that Neville has lost his mind after being alone for too long. Prior to the release of I Am Legend's alternate ending, this was the most commonly regarded theory on the much-dissected moving mannequin scene, particularly given the sequence in which Fred looks at Neville appears to be shot from Neville's perspective, highlighting his mental deterioration after living alone and in fear for over five years.
However, as aforementioned, a new take on I Am Legend's moving mannequin suggests Fred's positioning was a Darkseeker ploy designed to trap Neville, using several points to back up this claim. Firstly, as the mannequin turns and looks directly at Neville, its entire body position changes accordingly, but once Neville gets closer, Fred's base is shown sitting on an angle and has his left arm slightly behind his body. This new moving mannequin theory posits that, due to Fred's final position, the first figure Neville sees is actually a Darkseeker turning and looking at Neville before the mutants then place Fred outside of the station to trap Neville as he reverses across the bridge.
Secondly, the Darkseekers moving Fred themselves point to a higher level of intelligence for the mutants, which ties in with I Am Legend's final moments. The end of I Am Legend sees Neville, Anna (Alice Braga), and Ethan (Charlie Tahan) besieged by an army of Darkseekers, who are led by a seemingly more evolved version of their kind. The Darkseeker leader displays greater cunning and understanding than his peers, which is backed up by his quest to take back his queen from Neville's laboratory. In this way, the moving mannequin theory suggests the Darkseeker leader has his kind move Fred to try and tempt Neville to inspect the mannequin, activating the trap the Darkseekers have repurposed - which in turn allows them to finally try to find the Darkseeker queen Neville is holding captive.
This hypothesis is backed up by I Am Legend's alternate ending released in 2008, which shows, during the final laboratory attack, the alpha male Darkseeker creating a butterfly shape while attempting to break through the glass to the lab. In this alternate ending, Neville realizes he is referencing the butterfly-shaped tattoo on the female Darkseeker's neck and that the alpha male is trying to recover his mate. Neville puts his gun down and returns the female before apologizing after seeing the Darkseeker leader emotionally break down upon his mate’s return. After the Darkseekers leave (choosing to spare Neville and company), a shocked Neville looks over at the many photographs of his test subjects and realizes that he has become a monster in the eyes of the infected, showing remorse for the experiments he has undertaken over the years. This alternate ending adds significant credence to the Darkseekers moving the mannequin theory, showing the mutants are capable of complex thought and feeling just like humans.
Given the I Am Legend alternate ending is not canon; however, the moving mannequin theory instead serves to make I Am Legend 2's Darkseekers much scarier. While plot details remain tightly under wraps, for now, Will Smith's (somehow) returning Neville and Michael B. Jordan's unnamed character will face a much greater challenge to overcome the Darkseekers, provided this theory is correct. The amount of time between I Am Legend and its sequel means the Darkseekers will have likely evolved further, which, given the connotations of their burgeoning intelligence, can only spell trouble for the humans attempting to survive at camp Bethel. The prospect of a host of intelligent, wily Darkseekers akin to their leader in I Am Legend promises to make I Am Legend 2 a much scarier sequel, with the Darkseekers likely to make their moving mannequin trap look very rudimentary indeed upon the film's release.
