We have a status report for World War Z 2, and it’s bad news for those of you out there pining for David Fincher to direct a big-budget blockbuster.
Despite tentative plans for the zombie sequel to begin filming sometime this year, The Playlist is reporting that Paramount has shelved production until 2019 so that David Fincher can shift his focus over to Mindhunter season 2 ahead of its own start later this month. Word is the Powers That Be had been scouting for possible locations across Bilbao, Spain, Sweden, and Texas, before deciding that the World War Z 2 script still needed a little more time in the oven before Fincher and his team can yell “action!” for the first time.
Previous drafts have been turned in by Steven Knight (Locke) and Dennis Kelly (Utopia), though it’s unclear as yet who – if anyone – is tackling the screenplay for Paramount at the moment.
On the other side of the lens, World War Z 2 has also encountered scheduling issues while attempting to court Brad Pitt back to the zombie apocalypse. The actor, who played former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane in the 2013 box office smash, currently has his plate full with Ad Astra, before reteaming with Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the buzzworthy period drama that’s already attracted a smorgasbord of big-name talent.
The question, really, is whether David Fincher will remain attached to World War Z 2 even as pre-production runs into overtime. If history has taught us anything, it’s that the celebrated auteur isn’t afraid to walk away from a project at the first sign of trouble/internal conflict, so we’ll be keeping our fingers (and toes!) crossed in the hope that he’ll hunker down as Paramount begins to whip the screenplay into shape.
