The poster for George A. Romero’s 1968 film “Night of the Living Dead” famously proclaims that the dead will not remain deceased. This seminal zombie movie, which launched both a franchise and an entire genre, was followed by numerous films such as “Dawn of the Dead” (both Romero’s 1978 version and Zack Snyder’s 2004 remake), “Return of the Living Dead,” and video game adaptations like “Resident Evil” and “House of the Dead.” However, zombie movies seemed to lose popularity. But with the emergence of films like “28 Days Later,” “Shaun of the Dead,” “Zombieland,” and TV series such as “The Walking Dead” that was once a massive television hit, the genre experienced a resurgence.
In 2013, I found myself right in the thick of the zombie resurgence with Paramount Pictures’ film, World War Z. This was a big-screen interpretation of Max Brooks’ 2006 novel, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. The story unfolded as an account of a decade-long global Zombie War that had been ravaging mankind. As the mystery surrounding an unprecedented virus strain began to sweep across the planet, I found myself in the shoes of Gerry Lane, a former United Nations investigator played by Brad Pitt, who had just retired from his position.
In the summer of 2013, the movie World War Z made $540 million worldwide at the box office, making it the most successful zombie film in history and one of the highest-earning horror movies ever produced. However, with an estimated budget of $430 million, including production costs, marketing expenses, and Brad Pitt’s generous compensation package, the high-priced World War Z barely covered its costs. Consequently, a planned sequel scheduled for June 2017 did not come to fruition.
Despite this summer’s F1 racing surpassing the global earnings of World War Z to become Brad Pitt’s most profitable film with $575 million, the newly combined Paramount Skydance is aiming to resurrect the franchise. (Skydance Productions teamed up with Paramount and Pitt’s Plan B for the 2013 production of World War Z.)
David Ellison, head of Paramount Skydance Corporation and former executive producer on World War Z, mentioned during a press event on Wednesday that a potential World War Z sequel (WWZ II) is under consideration. Ellison emphasized that the Star Trek franchise, Tom Cruise’s Top Gun, new Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, including a G.I. Joe crossover and the live-action The Last Ronin are high priorities for the new Paramount, which is also working on upcoming films.
Ellison, who has been involved in productions for the Mission: Impossible, Terminator, and Jack Ryan franchises at Paramount Studios, is now leading a studio that is reviving its focus on horror movies and adult-themed comedies. Notably, Paramount’s top-grossing R-rated comedy is still 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop, earning $316 million. The studio has already scheduled A Quiet Place Part III for July 9, 2027, and Smile 3 is anticipated to start filming this year. Additionally, Scream 7, a slasher movie, is planned for February 27, 2026.
In 2015, director J.A. Bayona (known for “The Impossible” and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”) was assigned to direct the sequel of “World War Z”, with Steven Knight (writer of “Girl in the Spider’s Web” and the upcoming Bond film) penning the script. However, this project didn’t progress. In 2019, David Fincher, who has worked frequently with Brad Pitt (on movies like “Se7en”, “Fight Club”, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, and the upcoming “The Adventures of Cliff Booth”), was scheduled to team up with Pitt again for “World War Z 2”. Sadly, Paramount decided against producing this lower-budget sequel.
Fincher had earlier mentioned that the sequel felt somewhat similar to “The Last of Us”, which he discussed with GQ UK. He expressed relief that they didn’t pursue what they were initially working on, as “The Last of Us” offers a broader canvas for examining similar themes.
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2025-08-14 03:24