Since World War Z’s release seven years ago, a sequel has reportedly been in the works at Paramount for almost as long.
The Max Brooks novel of the same name served as the basis for the zombie movie, which earned more than $500 million worldwide. The demand for a sequel seemed evident, so why hasn’t it happened yet?
Maybe it’ll just be like the first movie, with a problematic development stage leading to a sequel actually happening at some point. However, as much as we hate to admit it, it now appears to be a remote probability.
But hold onto a little bit of hope! In January 2020, co-producer Jeremy Kleiner suggested that “someday” a sequel might materialise.
“Max Brooks’ novel is fantastic. We adore the entire cosmos. Despite the fact that World War Z appears to be ending, “He gave an explanation, which is ambiguous enough to give us hope that World War Z 2 might occur in the future.
It is unknown when that day will arrive, but like the zombies in the film, the sequel could come back to life, and if it does, it will have travelled a long way to the big screen.
World War Z 2 release date: Has World War Z 2 been cancelled?
The sequel was initially slated to come out in 2017, however the year passed without any production having started.
Following a postponement due to Brad Pitt’s decision to join Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, filming was then scheduled to start in the fall of 2018.
As a result of yet another delay brought on by director David Fincher’s work on Mindhunter season two, filming was originally scheduled to start in June 2019 but was later moved up to March.
But then came the news that Paramount had paused pre-production on the sequel, apparently because China, one of the world’s largest movie markets, has a prohibition on zombie movies, making a sequel a dangerous proposition. As a result, the sequel was once again delayed.
The sequel is currently as dead as a zombie that has been shot in the head, but you never know—it could still come to life in the future.
World War Z 2 cast: Who’s in World War Z 2?
Brad Pitt is on board to reprise his leading role as intrepid zombie fighter and former UN investigator Gerry Lane if the sequel materialises, but that may alter depending on when or if a filming date is set.
Mireille Enos announced in May 2016 that she would reprise her role as Karin Lane, his wife. Nearly four years later, it’s unclear where things stand, and, unexpectedly, no other casting has been announced.
World War Z 2 plot: What’s World War Z 2 going to be about?
Predicting the plot of the sequel is difficult because the original film was only loosely based on the best-selling book of the same name by author Max Brooks (who, FYI, is the son of Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks).
The world-traveling original film offered a glimpse of hope for humanity’s survival against the hordes of the undead, but as Gerry Lane notes in the closing credits, much work remains.
The novel provides plenty of inspiration for the filmmakers to work with because its plot covers the globe and extends into a political future that has been significantly altered by the zombie plague.
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
In November 2017, Fincher remarked, “Many foundational stones have been laid.” Right now, we’re simply tearing it apart in comparison to the mythology that already exists to see where we can go.
As they left it, the earth was still overrun, but the last of humanity had learned how to blend in with the infected by contracting fatal but treatable diseases.
We would anticipate the fightback to commence in World War Z 2, although it is unclear when it will actually occur.
World War Z 2 trailer: Is there a World War Z 2 trailer yet?
In case it wasn’t clear previously, the sequel hasn’t even begun production hence there isn’t a trailer for it yet.
If it ever does begin filming, we’re confident that we’ll obtain some footage—if only to show that it is, in fact, occurring.