Is Will Smith’s planned vampire epic The Redemption Of Cain still on the actor’s slate? Will Smith previously dealt with vampires – sort of – in 2007’s I Am Legend. This was based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel, which followed the supposed last man alive trying to survive in a world overrun by vampires. The book had previously been adapted as The Last Man On Earth with Vincent Price and The Omega Man starring Charlton Heston. Ridley Scott was once set to helm an adaptation starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was eventually retooled as a project for Smith with Michael Bay directing, though Francis Lawrence eventually helmed the project.

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I Am Legend was a huge hit and received praise for Will Smith’s performance and its depiction of a deserted New York, but the CGI used to bring its “Darkseekers” to life was mocked, with the movie also toning down their vampiric qualities. In 2010 it was announced Smith was set to star in The Legend Of Cain, a retelling of Book Of Genesis tale Cain and Abel. In the story, the brothers are the sons of Adam and Eve, and after killing his brother out of jealousy, Cain is marked by God and cursed to wander the Earth forever.

The Legend Of Cain came from a script by Caleeb Pinkett (Cobra Kai) and Dan Knauf, and in 2012 it was reported the project had been retitled The Redemption Of Cain and that Will Smith was considering directing it too. So what happened to the movie and is still happening?

The Redemption Of Cain Was Set To Start Shooting In 2013

According to a report by The Wrap, The Redemption Of Cain had received a green light from Sony and gearing up to shoot in London and Morocco. While Smith was confirmed as a producer at that time, his involvement as star or director was never clarified.

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A Redemption Of Cain Teaser Poster Appeared In 2013

A supposed teaser poster for The Redemption Of Cain appeared on the movie’s IMDb Pro page in 2013, bearing the tagline “Call Your God” and bearing a projected Summer 2015 release date. It was never confirmed if this was an official piece of art from the movie, however, and nothing has been heard about the project since.

The Redemption Of Cain Was Likely Cancelled

The Redemption Of Cain was one of several biblical epics being produced by studios around this period, including Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, Ben-Hur, and Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods And Kings. Of those three, only Noah was a true success and they all faced controversy in their handling of biblical material.

Will Smith also took a year and a half break following the “painful” failure of After Earth, so its possible The Redemption Of Cain was put on a backburner. The movie no longer appears on his IMDb page, and with biblical epics no longer in vogue and Smith’s focus on upcoming projects like Bad Boys 4, The Redemption Of Cain likely isn’t happening.

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About The Author


Padraig Cotter
(3486 Articles Published)

It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

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He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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