The original World War Z movie, adapted from the Max Brooks novel of the same name, was one of the most successful and also one of the most challenging zombie movies of the 21st century. It seemed like a no-brainer (pun intended) that adapting the popular book into a movie would be a straightforward endeavor, especially when you add to that the fact that mega-star Brad Pitt was on board to star. However, after a number of script rewrites, creative changes, and reshoots, some reports claim the movie had a production budget of $250+ million, which slightly dampens the fact that it would go on to take in $540 million worldwide.
The inherent premise of the concept lends itself well to more adventures, with Pitt and other creatives teasing such an opportunity for years. Word came earlier this year that a World War Z sequel was officially in the works, and Deadline confirms today that Pitt is returning for the zombie sequel. The new movie is set to be directed by Edward Berger, director of The Riders.
At this time, there are no plot details for the sequel. In the original book, Brooks explored a fictional world in which a zombie outbreak had actually happened. The narrative jumped to different parts of the world at different times during the outbreak, using real-world research to describe the different ways communities likely would have actually handled such an apocalyptic scenario.
To translate this idea to a movie, Pitt played Gerry, a former United Nations investigator who is separated from his family when the zombie outbreak ignites. While Gerry attempted to reunite with his family, he used his connections to governmental agencies to attempt to aid those in need while on a quest to locate his wife and daughter. This allowed the narrative to explore a variety of scenarios and various parts of the world, replicating the overall structure of the source material.
Currently, there are no plot details about the sequel. We can likely assume the follow-up will similarly explore a variety of scenarios related to a zombie outbreak, but with how much time has passed, we can only hope Gerry has already found his family and brings his talents to those in need.
This isn’t the first time we’ve gotten updates on a sequel, though, as David Fincher was set to direct the movie back in 2018, with the project ultimately being canceled in 2019. It’s unclear if this new movie will be a new take on whatever was initially planned for the sequel or if this will be an all-new story.
Stay tuned for updates on World War Z 2.
Are you excited to see Pitt return to the series? Let us know in the comments below!
