 Protosevich's first draft took place in 2000 in San Francisco, and contained many similarities with the finished film, though the Darkseekers (called 'Hemocytes') were civilized to the point of the creatures in "The Omega Man" and Anna was a lone morphine addict, as well as the fact that a Hemocyte character named Christopher joined forces with Neville.Warner Bros. immediately put the film on the fast track, attaching Neal H. Moritz as producer.Actors Tom Cruise, Michael Douglas, and Mel Gibson had been considered to star in the film, using a script by Protosevich and with Ridley Scott as director; however, by June 1997, the studio's preference was for actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.