Moviefone Editorial

Tag: @movieid:1422073

  • ‘World War Z’ Sequel From Director David Fincher Killed by Paramount

    ‘World War Z’ Sequel From Director David Fincher Killed by Paramount

    World War Z Brad Pitt
    Paramount

    The sequel to “World War Z” is dead and unlikely to come back to life.

    The follow-up to the 2013 zombie drama starring Brad Pitt was just months from starting production, but Paramount has pulled the plug on the project, according to The Playlist.

    The sequel would’ve reunited Pitt with David Fincher, the director of “Fight Club” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

    The decision is reportedly based on budget issues, though Paramount recently threw a bunch of money at green lighting two more “Mission: Impossible” movies.

    “World War Z 2” spent a long time in development. After the first movie (directed by Marc Forster) became a box office hit, Paramount immediately hired J.A. Bayona to direct a sequel and gave it a June 2017 release date.

    In 2016, Bayona left the project and Pitt recruited Fincher to step in. Rough plans were made to shoot in late spring or summer this year (after Fincher was done editing his Netflix serial killer drama “Mindhunter”).

    But now, those plans have been scrapped. Collider reports that Paramount was uncomfortable with Fincher’s budget and it’s possible that the project could eventually go through with a different director. Then again, Pitt may not want to go forward without Fincher, and no Pitt, no movie.

  • David Fincher’s ‘World War Z’ Sequel to Begin Filming in 2019

    David Fincher’s ‘World War Z’ Sequel to Begin Filming in 2019

    Paramount Pictures

    More than five years after the first flick hit theaters, it remained to be seen if the long-gestating “World War Z” sequel would ever get off the ground. But now, the film’s producers say the movie is definitely still happening, with original star Brad Pitt still on board and celebrated filmmaker David Fincher directing.

    That was the word from Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, who spoke with Variety this week at the premiere of their latest film, “Beautiful Boy.” According to the producers, not only are both Pitt and Fincher committed to the production, but it also has a production start date: June of 2019.

    Of course, as with everything concerning this film so far, that may or may not change. “World War Z 2” was originally scheduled for release back in June of 2017, but original director J.A. Bayona eventually left to helm “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” instead, and the film was pulled from Paramount’s schedule.

    Pitt had reportedly been personally recruiting his frequent collaborator Fincher for the project, but there hadn’t been any concrete confirmation of the filmmaker’s involvement until Gardner and Kleiner’s comments this week. Now, it looks like the flick is finally back on track, though the producers said new screenwriter Dennis Kelly (who penned UK thriller series “Utopia,” and won a Tony for the book for “Matilda: The Musical”) is still finishing the script.

    “He’s done an amazing job, and we think it’s gonna be great,” Kleiner said of Kelly’s screenplay.

    Fans should keep their fingers crossed that this new plan pans out (and that production on the “Z”-quel isn’t as fraught as the original’s). Stay tuned.

    [via: Variety/Twitter, h/t The A.V. Club]

  • Brad Pitt’s ‘World War Z 2’ Pulled From Release Schedule After Production Delay

    The production of 2013 zombie drama “World War Z” was notoriously plagued by problems, and now, it appears that the film’s sequel could be in trouble, too: Studio Paramount has taken the flick off of its 2017 release schedule, with no firm replacement date in place.

    “World War Z 2” was to have featured the return of original star Brad Pitt, and was initially slated for release this year on June 9. But production never got off the ground in time to meet that deadline, after director J.A. Bayona left the project last year to helm “Jurassic World 2.” A replacement director was never selected, and thus, Paramount was forced to remove the flick from its schedule entirely.

    While there were rumblings last summer that Pitt wanted to recruit his frequent collaborator David Fincher for the gig, a deal has yet to materialize and no other candidates have come forward. It’s unclear why this sequel is taking so long to come together, though perhaps it has something to do with all of the behind the scenes headaches while filming the original flick.

    The “World War Z” shoot was famously beset by problems from the beginning, with extensive rewrites and reshoots, a six-month production delay, a budget that ballooned to $200 million, a complete reworking of the ending, and reported clashes between Pitt and director Marc Forster. Despite that drama, the flick nevertheless went on to become a box office hit, raking in $540 million worldwide, and clearing the way for a sequel.

    We’ll see if that follow-up actually happens, though. Right now, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Paramount has tentatively rescheduled “World War Z 2” for sometime in either 2018 or 2019. Stay tuned.

    [via: The Hollywood Reporter]

  • Brad Pitt Wants David Fincher to Direct ‘World War Z’ Sequel

    It’s been a long wait for any news about the follow-up to 2013’s surprise smash “World War Z,” the Brad Pitt flick that had a notoriously difficult production but wound up with a huge haul at the box office anyway. While the first film’s $540 million earnings made a sequel a no-brainer for studio Paramount, it’s been another long road to production, with the follow-up flick losing its director, J.A. Bayona, earlier this year. (Bayona switched teams to helm “Jurassic World 2.”) But now, the sequel may have lined up a more famous replacement.

    Variety reports that frequent Pitt collaborator David Fincher is currently in negotiations to take the helm, with the star meeting with the director in recent weeks to discuss the project. Fincher is one of several directors being considered for the flick, but according to the trade, “The talks were initially lukewarm, but sources now tell Variety that negotiations are much further down the road.”

    If Fincher does sign on, it will be his fourth time working with Pitt, following “Se7en,” “Fight Club,” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” The pair were most recently slated to tackle a reboot of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” but that project never materialized.

    Regardless of who sits in the director’s chair this time, “World War Z 2” is almost guaranteed to have a smoother production than its predecessor, which was plagued with extensive on-set rewrites, expensive reshoots (including a complete re-do of the ending), and multiple conflicting visions for the flick, which was based on Max Brooks’s novel. Despite all those troubles, Pitt was eager to make a sequel, and the film went on to make up for all the behind the scenes drama at the box office.

    Plot details are being kept under wraps for now. Production is expected to start sometime in early 2017.

    [via: Variety]