Paramount Pictures is accommodating Brad Pitt, who just signed on to co-star in Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. Because Tarantino’s 1969-set film thriller is set to begin filming sooner rather than later, Paramount has delayed the start of production on their sequel to World War Z until this coming fall, tweets a writer at Variety. It’s unclear if the studio even had a choice in the matter being that Pitt is the main producer and star of World War Z. With that said, after the fiasco behind the first film, it’s preferable that the filmmakers and studio continue to take the time to get it right. There’s no rush from a fan perspective, but at some point, the studio will have to shoot. This fall looks like a realistic target.
David Fincher has spent the past year working on a sequel to World War Z that he plans on directing, which will re-team Fincher with frequent collaborator Pitt.
Pitt will once again star as former U.N. investigator Gerry Lane, who heads on a worldwide search to find the source of the infection and a way to halt its spread.
“We’re hoping to get a piece of material that’s a reason to make a movie not an excuse to make a movie,” Fincher recently told Collider, indicating that he’s taking his time with the development process to make sure the sequel is one of worth.
Providing an update last November, Fincher told Little White Lies:
“We’re trying. A lot of stones have been laid. We’re just deconstructing it right now against the mythology that exists to see where we can go.”
Filming was set to begin this past January, but the delay doesn’t come as much of a surprise. No matter, the sequel will eventually happen, especially since World War Z made over $500M at the box office worldwide. It’s gonna be a wild ride.