'World War Z 2' News, Cast, Spoilers: The Sequel Gets a New Writer But Is It Losing a Director?
"World War Z" was an unexpected zombie movie hit. It's no wonder that despite the many critics and mixed reviews, it was given by Paramount a go signal for a sequel. Despite having a budget of $190 million, bigger than most zombie movies made, it grossed around $540 million dollars and became one of the highest-grossing movies in the "zombie" genre.
Although seemingly a succesful film, the first movie had a lot of troubles in its production, and the anticlimactic ending made fans wary about a follow-up movie. However, recent news from The Hollywood Reporter claims that script-wise, it will be taking on a new scribe. This has made many fans excited as they learned the fact that Dennis Kelly, creator of the British show "Utopia," will be taking on the responsibility. It is said that Kelly will be continuing the draft that Steven Knight had already started. The film being supposedly based on Max Brooks' novel has been but a lose interpretation, and Brooks later claimed that due to the alternate ending, it had nothing in connection with his books anymore. The new movie is reported to start on a "clean slate" and many feel Kelly's work on "Utopia" is much more promising of what could come.
The good news of Kelly getting on board was also overshadowed by the news that Universal was trying to steal director J.A. Bayona for "Jurassic World 2." Although the opportunity is very much enticing for any director and could be a big threat to other movies, Bayona has been tied down to the sequel of "World War Z" for two years now. However, this option may have worked in favor of Bayona, as now Paramount will be willing to give Bayona much more to keep him happy, including more creative control and possibly a bigger budget.
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Aside from Bayona, Brad Pitt is also returning to star and produce alongside Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Ian Bryce, and "Skydance's" David Ellison.
"World War Z 2" is set to hit theaters on June 9, 2017.
