Movies
‘Return of the Living Dead’ Reboot in the Works; “Will Expand the Existing World”
One of the greatest horror-comedies of all time, Dan O’Bannon’s 1985 movie The Return of the Living Dead ended up launching a franchise that to date includes five total movies, but you mostly only hear horror fans talking about the first three. The first sequel came in 1988 and featured returning actors, but 1993’s Brian Yuzna-directed Return of the Living Dead 3 went in an entirely different direction with a wildly different storyline. It’s become a cult classic in recent years, thanks in large part to its central villain, a sexy zombie played by Melinda Clarke.
And then we got Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis and Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave, both released direct-to-television in 2005. Why don’t horror fans talk about them? Well, they took the franchise down a not-quite-desirable path, the two films cheaply made and shot at the same time. And that was the end of the franchise for almost 20 years.
But the dead are never truly dead, if George A. Romero and Dan O’Bannon taught us anything, and it looks like a Return of the Living Dead reboot is shambling to life this year.
The company Living Dead Media is behind the planned upcoming reboot, which has Steve Wolsh (Muck, Kill Her Goats) attached to direct. According to the company’s official website, the next installment in the Return of the Living Dead franchise will reboot rather than remake.
Living Dead Media previews, “Our reboot of Return of the Living Dead will expand the existing world created by the original 5 films, while staying true to the R-rated, sci-fi, horror, dark comedy roots adored by fans of the cult classic around the world for the last 35 years.”
The company also notes on their official website, “We are excited to resurrect this storied franchise for current fans and new generations of zombie fans.”
What direction would you like to see a Return of the Living Dead reboot take? A remake of the original? A sequel to the first two movies? Maybe the return of Melinda Clarke’s Julie?!
Sound off below…
It’s now been five years since the release of sequel Happy Death Day 2U, Christopher Landon’s sequel to the Groundhog Day-style slasher movie from 2017. Both films star Jessica Rothe as final girl Tree Gelbman, and director Christopher Landon had been planning on bringing the character – and the actor – back for a third installment. So… where is it?!
We’ve been talking about a potential Happy Death Day 3 for several years now, with the ball in producer Jason Blum’s court. Happy Death Day 2U scared up $64 million at the worldwide box office, a far cry from the first film’s $125 million. But with a reported production budget of just $9 million, that first sequel was profitable for Blumhouse. So again… where is it?!
Chatting with Screen Geek this week while promoting her new action-thriller Boy Kills World, franchise star Jessica Rothe provided a hopeful update on Happy Death Day 3.
“Well, I can say Chris Landon has the whole thing figured out,” Rothe explains. “We just need to wait for Blumhouse and Universal to get their ducks in a row.
Rothe continues in her comments to Screen Geek, “But my fingers are so crossed. I think Tree [Gelbman] deserves her third and final chapter to bring that incredible character and franchise to a close or a new beginning.”
Back in 2020, Christopher Landon had revealed that the working title for the third installment was Happy Death Day to Us, said to be “different than the other two films.”
In the meantime, Christopher Landon is directing a mysterious thriller titled Drop for Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes, along with a werewolf movie titled Big Bad for Lionsgate.
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