Brad Pitt has spent more than ten years trying to bring World War Z back to the big screen. Ever since the first film's success in 2013, several attempts have been made to get a sequel off the ground, but none of them made it over the line. The project was even in very safe hands for a good while, back when Brad Pitt talked his long-time collaborator David Fincher into taking an interest. For several years, then, World War Z 2 inched forward with Fincher at the helm, until budget troubles eventually did for it. In 2019, the director finally jumped ship and the sequel was left to gather dust.
But Paramount clearly never gave up on the idea entirely. Last summer, the studio decided to move World War Z 2 back among its priority projects, with the aim of finally reviving a production that has been dragging on for over a decade. And this time round, things look far more concrete, as we learn via Deadline that Brad Pitt is officially back as Gerry Lane. He'll be joined by Edward Berger, director of All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave, who has just signed on to direct the film. As it happens, we've also learned that Brad Pitt himself helped talk Edward Berger into it while the pair were shooting their upcoming film together, The Riders.
Who do we have to thank? Thank you, Brad!
The return of World War Z has been a long time coming, then, and Brad Pitt has been carrying this sequel ever since the success of the first instalment, which took more than $540 million worldwide despite a famously troubled production. Adapted from Max Brooks' novel, Marc Forster's film followed Gerry Lane, a former United Nations employee racing against the clock to understand and halt a pandemic turning humans into extremely aggressive creatures. The actor wanted to get his character back in the saddle quickly, and even managed to bring David Fincher aboard. The director of Seven, Fight Club and Zodiac looked like the ideal candidate to take the franchise somewhere new. But after several years in development, the conversations around the budget ultimately derailed everything. Fincher walked away from World War Z 2 and Paramount shelved the sequel — temporarily, as it turns out.
The file was finally reopened last year, not least after Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg took over at the top of Paramount Pictures. The studio then confirmed its desire to make this sequel a priority, a decision also backed by David Ellison and Skydance. All that remained was to find a director capable of picking up the torch after David Fincher.
Edward Berger takes over
In the end it's Edward Berger who has taken on the project. The German director has just wrapped The Riders with Brad Pitt, which will have made things a good deal easier. According to the information reported by Deadline, Brad Pitt started talking to him about World War Z 2 during the shoot, explaining why he thought the project would suit him. Over the course of production, Berger was won over, before Paramount officially finalised his involvement. On the writing side, the studio has also brought in Dennis Kelly, creator of Utopia and The Third Day, and writer of the Matilda musical. No details about the story of this new adventure have been revealed yet, and Paramount is keeping the script entirely under wraps for now. So we don't yet know what new threat awaits Gerry Lane, or even whether the film will pick up directly from the events of the first instalment.
No shooting or release date has been announced either. Brad Pitt will also produce the feature alongside Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner for Plan B, while Edward Berger will serve as executive producer. After more than a decade of attempts, World War Z 2 finally seems to have found a team capable of giving it a second life. Now we just have to see whether it really is second time lucky.
