Did "I Am Legend’s" Dog Scene Take You Out Of The Film?

Dan Lalonde
Jul 12
2 min read

Updated: Jul 13

I admit, as a dog lover, I hate it in films when they don't survive. The ending of Signs always bothered me because Mel Gibson forgot to bring the dog in before the Aliens attack.

Before I Am Legend became a sci-fi classic, it faced one major hurdle, Sam the dog’s death. According to writer Akiva Goldsman, in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, test audiences walked out en masse the moment his character had to kill his infected canine companion. “I love dogs,” Goldsman told THR. “Never more walkouts in anything I’ve done than when that dog died.”

The scene’s origin? Smith’s Ali trainer, Darrell Foster, pitched a mercy killing, raw, emotional, and unforgettable. But convincing Warner Bros. wasn’t easy. Studio chief Alan Horn, a devoted German Shepherd lover still grieving the loss of his own, met them in his office flanked by portraits of his late pets. “Guys, I promise you, your lead actor cannot choke a dog to death in an American movie,” Horn told them, tears in his eyes.

Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman found a solution, pan away from the act, focus on Smith’s face, and let the sound design carry the pain. It worked. The scene stayed, unforgettable yet bearable.

Still, the original ending, where Smith’s character survives and learns empathy for the infected, was scrapped just two weeks before release. “We were committed to releasing both versions,” Goldsman recalls, but ultimately, the studio chose the theatrical cut we all know.

Now, with I Am Legend 2 and Constantine 2 in the works, Goldsman hints the Legend script is more polished, but Constantine might hit screens first. Comment below with your thoughts.