World War Z Sequels Happening?
This article is more than 2 years old
While World War Z certainly is not as disastrous as its numerous production delays, re-writes, and re-shoots would suggest, the zombie film will have a tough time being profitable for Paramount Pictures and Brad Pitt, who was the film’s star and producer. One of the reasons World War Z called in Damon Lindelof and Drew Goddard to re-write the film’s third act and ending was to open up the film for sequels. Paramount wants to make World War Z a franchise, but that’s all dependent on whether or not audiences want more of these films.
In an interview with THR, Brad Pitt and World War Z director Marc Forster talked about the possibilities of seeing more World War Z movies. While Brad Pitt said of the film adaptation of Max Brooks’ best-selling novel and its potential for sequels, “there is enough to mine from the book. We could barely get a fraction of the book in. So we’ll see. We’ll see,” he said.
It all depends on how well World War Z performs at the box office this weekend. Currently, the film is tracking for a $55 to $58 million opening weekend box office, which is a slow start against a reported $200 million budget. Keep in mind; the movie still has to open internationally, so maybe it still could be profitable for Paramount. According to World War Z’s director, “Let’s see how this goes. We hope this movie goes well, and we shall go from there,” Marc Forster said. Whether or not, Brad Pitt would return to a sequel as the film’s producer or star is also unclear.
I’d like to see more World War Z movies in the future. The universe is so rich and vast that a lot can be made from a sequel film. My only reservation about World War Z is that it really pulls its punches when it comes to zombies. The zombies in the film lose their gumption after its initial action sequence and then the film turns into a globetrotting race against time to find a cure for the global pandemic. Aside from that, World War Z was not bad.
Read Brent’s GFR review of World War Z right here.
