Back in 2013, actor and producer Brad Pitt came out with "World War Z," an apocalyptic zombie film. With its favorable response from audiences and critics alike, plus a reported revenue of $540 million worldwide, a sequel was undoubtedly not far off.
"World War Z 2" will be directed by J.A. Bayona. The Spanish film director is best known for his work in "The Orphanage" and "The Impossible."
The sequel will be co-produced by Plan B Entertainment, Pitt's production company, and Skydance Productions. Pitt will also be returning to reprise his role as former United Nations investigator, Gerry Lane.
"World War Z" saw Gerry discover a pathogen that acted as a mask against zombies, which allowed the human race to fight against the fast-moving undead. He was eventually reunited with his family in Nova Scotia, but was sure that the war was only just beginning.
Gerry's last words already acted as hints for a promising sequel, but information about the plot have not been made public as of yet.
Rumor has it that the sequel will be going in a different direction and that it might not pick up from where the first film left off. However, it is also reportedly likely that the screenplay will take more inspiration from author Max Brooks' book, "World War Z," which the first film of the same name was based on.
But it looks like the zombie sequel will be just as action-packed as the original. Steven Knight, who wrote and submitted the first draft of "World War Z 2," spoke to Collider about what he liked most about the first film.
"I think the beauty of the first film was the way that it never paused for breath. It never spent a moment thinking, 'Hang on a minute, we'd better tell the audience what this is all about.' It stayed in the moment, it stayed with that person," Knight explained.
There is a likely chance that Knight might have incorporated that same beauty in his first draft of the sequel. But whether that element will be kept or not will be up to British writer Dennis Kelly, whom Paramount had reportedly tapped as the new writer to work on the latest draft of the film's screenplay.
"World War Z 2" is slated to be released on June 9, 2017.
