Brad Pitt’s ‘World War Z’ Sequel Will Be Directed By David Fincher?
David Fincher may be onboard to direct Brad Pitt’s World War Z’s sequel. According to recent updates, Angelina Jolie’s ex-husband and Paramount Pictures are trying very hard to persuade Fincher to direct the next part in the zombie film.
World War Z was directed by Marc Forster and was based on the novel of the same name written by Max Brooks, although the movie and novel had no similarities other than the title. The film followed the story of Gerry Lane (Pitt), a former United Nations investigator with experience in investigating dangerous war zones. In the action horror film, Gerry Lane has to travel the world to find a way to stop a zombie pandemic.
In January 2012, Paramount and director Marc Forster said that “They each view World War Z as a trilogy that would have the grounded, gun-metal realism of Matt Damon’s JasonBourne series tethered to the unsettling end-times vibe of AMC’s The Walking Dead.” However, the plans for turning the film into trilogy were shelved due to the film’s production issues.
World War Z premiered in London on June 2, 2013, and received positive reviews for Pitt’s performance and the portrayal of the fantasy world where zombies are present. However, the film’s use of outdated CGI and anticlimax was highly criticized by the fans. Regardless to this, World War Z garnered $540 million against a budget of $190 million, becoming the highest-grossing zombie film of all time.
Based on the phenomenal success of the 2013 release, fans were sure that Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment production house will try to work on a possible sequel. After the successful opening of the film, Paramount officially announced that they are planning to work on World War Z 2.
Back in December 2013, the studio announced that The Impossible movie director Juan Antonio Bayona will replace Marc Forster as the director and will work on a script written by Steven Knight. However, Paramount later announced in 2016 that Bayona has left the project due to other commitments.
It was reported back in August 2016 that Brad Pitt was trying very hard to bring David Fincher into the project. According to an earlier report from Variety, the Fight Club movie star already talked with many directors but was said to be zeroing in on Fincher. According to sources, Pitt and Fincher met in 2016 to discuss the possibilities of their another collaboration after Se7en, Fight Club and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
A recent report from Variety notes that Paramount is all set to make the sequel of World War Z and wants David Fincher to direct it. According to the website, Paramount Pictures’ new chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos has not officially greenlit the project, but he is expected to do so in coming weeks.
Ever since Jim has taken over the studio reigns, he has been weighing which projects to pursue and according to the sources, World War Z’s sequel will be the first film to go into production.
Some social media reactions to seeing Brad Pitt starring in David Fincher’s film based on zombies are pretty interesting as well. There were many fans of Pitt and Fincher, who stated that they were not interested in the first film but now as David and Brad are collaborating again, World War Z’s sequel is a must-see for them.
I really disliked World War Z because i'm a huge fan of the book, but the news that David Fincher might direct the sequel is very intriguing
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) April 27, 2017
Personally I'd like Fincher to reboot World War Z, keep Brad Pitt & just tell the story he wants. The flick was okay but it wasn't the book.
— ??????? ???? (@GBRIELGRY) April 24, 2017
While the recent report from Variety is not confirmed by the studio, the site’s reliable sources state that World War Z 2’s production would begin early in 2018. Paramount is yet to announce the official date when the film will go into production. Keep checking this space for latest news on Brad Pitt’s World War Z’s sequel and its release date.
[Featured Image by Junko Kimura/Getty Images]
