'World War Z 2' Delay News: Paramount Removes Zombie Sequel From Its 2017 Slate
After years of negotiations and delays, the supposed sequel of "World War Z" is experiencing yet another setback as Paramount officially pulled the movie out of its 2017 slate.
"World War Z 2" was originally slated for a June 9, 2017 release date, but the film has now been dropped from Paramount's official movie schedule releases this year, without adding an estimated release date in place.
The move is not that surprising, however, as the sequel currently does not have a director and has likely halted production as well since the movie also does not have an official set of cast members yet.
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The last known official director was J.A. Bayona who left the project last year due to the lack of preparation time. He currently helms the "Jurassic World" sequel that is scheduled to release in 2018.
Meanwhile, it is rumored that David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) has been tapped to direct the movie, but no official confirmation is known as of this moment.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount insiders say that the studio is now eyeing a 2018 or 2019 release date for "World War Z 2." The sequel is reportedly produced by "World War Z's" lead actor Brad Pitt, alongside Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and David Ellison.
In other news, Paramount also dropped the "Friday the 13th" movie from its 2017 slate. Like "World War Z 2," the movie was canceled without an estimated release date in its place.
The first "World War Z" movie, which starred Pitt as a father who tries to save his family from a zombie invasion, experienced several problems during its production since Pitt and director Marc Foster reportedly had trouble working together. Due to constant reshoots, the movie overspent its proposed budget from $125 million to $200 million.
Despite that, according to Box Office Mojo, the release of the movie in 2013 grossed $66 million during its debut weekend, and has now garnered a total of $540 million in worldwide sales.
