Bill Murray And Dan Aykroyd Will Reportedly Be In ‘Zombieland 2’
A sequel to the 2009 hit Zombieland is set to start production in January of 2019, reuniting the original cast of Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and Abigail Breslin. In addition to that, Geeks Worldwide reports that Bill Murray will be back as well, and he’s bringing fellow Ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd with him.
Murray’s cameo in the first Zombieland was one of the film’s highlights, with the film’s stars squatting in the actor’s mansion after the zombie apocalypse and encountering the funnyman in memorable fashion. It’s unclear how exactly his return in Zombieland 2 will be explained given the events of the first movie, but we suppose anything is possible in a world full of the living dead. Geeks Worldwide notes Murray and Aykroyd will be playing fictional versions of themselves.
The original Zombieland was a surprise hit for Sony Pictures. Made on a budget of just under $24 million, the film pulled in a worldwide gross of $102.3 million and helped launch the careers of Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone. Those working behind the camera on the film have also gone on to success. Director Ruben Fleischer recently helmed the Venom movie, and writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese are better known as the team behind the Deadpool movies. All three will return for Zombieland 2.
All that success is the primary reason why it’s taken nearly a decade for a second Zombieland movie to come along. The Hollywood Reporter quoted Columbia Pictures president Sanford Panitch on the delay when Zombieland 2 was officially confirmed in July.
“This is one of those projects that fans have wanted to see happen for a long time — and no one wanted to see it happen more than Emma, Woody, Jesse and Abigail,” Panitch said. “These are some of the most in-demand actors, and I think they are making this movie because they love these characters. We are thrilled Ruben was willing to come back to direct the sequel, as his work on Venom has been truly amazing.”
This reports of Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd appearing in Zombieland 2 will undoubtedly have Ghostbusters fans wondering if perhaps a new announcement on that front could be forthcoming. Aykroyd has been talking about making another Ghostbusters movie for years, with Murray being the holdout keeping the film from going ahead. In November, Screen Crush reported Aykroyd saying a script for Ghostbusters 3 was “being written right now.” Maybe the two can work things out while on the set of Zombieland 2.
