Yahoo News World War Z 2: Everything you need to know, including the release date and cast
World War Z may have come out nearly a decade ago, but fans of the zombie apocalypse film have been hankering for a sequel ever since. Unfortunately for them, however, it seems like the wait is going to keep on going.
Based on the "oral history of the zombie war" of the same name by Max Brooks, World War Z was a surprise hit at the box office when it debuted in 2013, making over $500 million worldwide. With such monetary and critical success, it was obvious that the appetite was clearly there for a sequel. Which brings us to the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question, as it were: where is it?
Some might be holding onto the hope that, like the original film, the development phase is simply a bumpy road that will eventually lead to an actual sequel though it looks like it's a distant possibility right now. Here's what we know so far about a potential, if unlikely, World War Z 2.
World War Z 2 potential release date: Has World War Z 2 been cancelled?
At one point the sequel was scheduled for release in 2017, but that time came and went without production even having begun.
Shooting was then expected to begin in autumn 2018 after it was pushed back thanks to Brad Pitt signing up for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Another delay soon followed – caused by director David Fincher's work on Mindhunter season two – and that meant that shooting was going to begin in June 2019 instead, with that date later moved forward to March.
However, news then broke that the sequel was delayed yet again as Paramount has halted pre-production on the sequel, reportedly because China – one of the world's biggest movie markets – has a ban on zombie movies, making a sequel a risky prospect.
But don't completely lose hope! Co-producer Jeremy Kleiner said in January 2020 that a sequel could become a reality "someday".
"We love Max Brooks' book. We love the universe of it. It doesn’t feel like the World War Z is done and over with," he explained, which is vague enough to leave us hopeful that it's World War Z 2 could happen one day.
World War Z 2 cast: Who's in World War Z 2?
Brad Pitt had been on board to reprise his starring role as former United Nations investigator and intrepid zombie fighter Gerry Lane, but as of writing there's no way to know whether or not that would still hold true. Likewise, Mireille Enos confirmed that she would return as his wife, Karin Lane.
However, it's been many years since Enos confirmed her return, so much like Pitt's return, it's still up in the air.
World War Z 2 plot: What's World War Z 2 going to be about?
The first movie was only loosely based on the bestselling novel of the same name by writer Max Brooks (the son of Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks, FYI), so predicting the plot of the sequel is a tricky business.
The globe-trotting original movie ended with a glimmer of hope for mankind's survival against the undead hordes, but as Gerry Lane says at the end of the film, there's still much left to be done.
The novel, whose story spans the globe and stretches into a political future much changed by the zombie pandemic, offers plenty of material for the filmmakers to draw on.
"A lot of stones have been laid," said Fincher in November 2017. "We're just deconstructing it right now against the mythology that exists to see where we can go."
As they left it, the remnants of mankind had discovered how to pass "unseen" among the infected – by infecting themselves with fatal but curable diseases – but the world remained overrun.
In World War Z 2 we'd expect to see the fightback begin, but whether that fightback ever actually starts remains to be seen...
World War Z 2 trailer: Is there a World War Z 2 trailer yet?
Just in case it wasn't clear enough earlier, the sequel hasn't been greenlit yet, let alone started filming to get a trailer for it.
We're sure that if it ever does start filming, we'll get some footage if only to prove it's actually happening.
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