More than a decade after its release, the Brad Pitt film World War Z is getting a sequel.
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According to Deadline, Paramount has closed a deal with Pitt to return as the star, and Edward Berger has signed on to direct. Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner will produce the sequel on behalf of Plan B Entertainment, and Berger will also executive produce. Dennis Kelly will write the script.
World War Z, which was released in 2013, is a film adaptation of Max Brooks’ 2006 novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.
Pitt has wanted to make a sequel to the zombie hit for a decade. He initially tapped his longtime friend David Fincher to direct, but Fincher left the project when issues with the budget arose.
After being put on hold, the project was revived when Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg became the co-chairs of Paramount Pictures. Both saw a WWZ sequel as a high-priority project.
The pair confirmed their desire to get the project off the ground this year at CinemaCon.
Skydance played a big part in getting the original film made, and Skydance president David Ellison echoed Pitt’s desire to get the sequel moving forward. The original film made $540 million at the worldwide box office.
Pitt was influential in bringing Berger in as the director of the sequel. The two recently wrapped production on the A24 and Scott Free film The Riders.
Insiders told Deadline the shoot went well, and early on, Pitt pitched Berger World War Z 2, telling him how perfect he would be to direct it. By the end of production, Berger was on board.
A production schedule has not been released for the film, and the plot is being kept under wraps.