5) Zombieland (2009)
Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland was a huge success both critically and commercially, holding the record for the highest grossing zombie film in the US until World War Z came along four years later. The less we say about that, the better. Anyways, Zombieland starred Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, Woody Harrelson and Emma Stone as survivors of a zombie apocalypse who banded together to travel across America in search of sanctuary.
Charismatic performances, a witty script and one of the funniest celebrity cameos of all time left audiences wanting more, so screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick immediately began work on a follow up. However, plans to film a movie sequel fell by the wayside in March 2013 when Amazon Studios announced plans to create a TV pilot, which was filmed with new actors and aired a short time later.
Unfortunately, Reese later confirmed that Zombieland: The Series wouldn’t be picked up by Amazon, so talk returned to a potential theatrical sequel, although it’s currently unclear whether the principal cast of the original movie will return. Sony Pictures recently announced plans to produce an official follow-up, hiring screenwriter Dave Callaham to start work on a new script, but with no director attached, it’s still doubtful that Zombieland 2 will ever see the light of day.
Zombieland ended with Columbus and the rest of the crew finally coming together as a family of sorts, so there’s plenty of dramatic mileage to still pull out of these characters as they continue to search for safety in post-apocalyptic America. While the original script was key to the first film’s appeal, it’s still hard to imagine Zombieland 2 being made without the original cast members involvement. Now would be the time to strike though, as the zombie genre continues to grow in popularity thanks to the success of The Walking Dead. Even more importantly, Colombus needs to tell us what the rest of his 33 rules for survival are before the inevitable zombie apocalypse arrives. I, for one, am keen to indulge in all the free ice cream I can devour once all the pesky humans are gone.