David Fincher in talks with Brad Pitt about directing World War Z 2
The Gone Girl filmmaker hasn't directed a sequel since 1992's Alien 3
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.World War Z didn't have the easiest transition to cinemas when it was released back in 2013, and its sequel seems to be suffering a similar fate - until now, that could be; it's been reported that the film's star Brad Pitt is honing in on David Fincher as his choice to oversee production - despite the director's apparent hatred of franchise films.
According to Variety, talks to get Fincher 'boarding the zombie tentpole' began two weeks ago and, while 'initially lukewarm,' sources claim that negotiations are now 'much further down the road.'
This would certainly mark a curious departure for Fincher who hasn't directed a franchise film since his tumultuous experiences on Alien 3 (1992). If anyone can lure him, though, it's Pitt who the director has worked with on Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).
His most recent film, Gone Girl, was an adaptation of the Gillian Flynn bestseller. Preceding that, he directed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Social Network. Fincher's currently attempting to put together HBO series Mind Hunter for which he has directed the pilot episode.
World War Z was initially due to go ahead with J.A. Bayona (The Impossible) before the Spanish filmmaker decided to direct the sequel to mega-smash Jurassic World.
The original film, based on the 2006 novel of the same name, was directed by Marc Forster and follows Pitt's former UN investigator Gerry Lane as the survivor of a zombie pandemic.
Pitt's Plan B Entertainment is producing the sequel which was initially slated for a June 2017 release; with that opportunity now missed, it's looking like World War Z 2 will reach cinemas summer 2018. It's been written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments