What Ever Happened to ‘World War Z 2’?

The Big Picture

• Brad Pitt and David Fincher’s scheduling conflicts caused delays in making
  World War Z 2
  .
• China’s ban on zombie movies posed a major concern for
  World War Z 2
  , which already boasted an expensive budget that was concerning for the studio.
• Due to Paramount executives’ financial concerns about the budget for
  World War Z 2
  , they parted ways with Fincher, leaving the fate of the sequel project uncertain.

The year is 2013 and the zombie craze is at a fevered pitch. The Walking Dead is still making its way to an apex in the zombie genre going into its fourth season. On the big screen, sensations like Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days Later, Zombieland, and the Resident Evil franchise are turning hefty profits at the box office, cashing in on the undead phenomenon. Not to be outdone, the executives at Paramount Studios took notice and decided to dip their toe into the cash-soaked waters of the subgenre. They planned to do so with the Brad Pitt-led epic zombie apocalypse film World War Z.

These execs are not stupid, so they grabbed one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood to appear in a zombie film at the peak of their popularity. Barring any production setbacks or awful writing (not going to happen with Damon Lindelof in the writer’s room) it was destined to make a ton of money — and they were right. World War Z soared to a worldwide cash grab of over $530 million on a budget of less than half of that number. So if some is good, then more must be better, right? It was decided that they would make a sequel and see if they could earn a couple of hundred more million bucks for the big bosses at Paramount. But, it never happened, and there are several reasons why.

Brad Pitt and David Fincher’s Scheduling Conflicts Stalled ‘World War Z 2’

The sequel already had its director in place. The masterful David Fincher was tied to the project, and it was originally slated to hit theaters in 2017. On paper, it was a match made in heaven as Pitt and Fincher had already teamed up in memorable films like Se7en, Fight Club, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Unfortunately, the A-lister Pitt had signed on to do Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with Quentin Tarantino and Leonardo DiCaprio, and the release was rescheduled to June 2019. Pitt was also under contract to do Ad Astra, which would leave no time for the sequel until he had wrapped both films. Unfortunately, by the time 2019 rolled around, Fincher was already doing some great work on the second season of the hit Netflix television show, Mindhunter. He and his crew were going to be shooting in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future, and that caused another delay. Between the hectic schedules of its star and director, the film was beginning to look like the deck was stacked against a sequel ever being made.

China’s Ban on Zombie and Ghost Movies Was Another Major Setback

When it comes to business outside the United States, China is the most crucial country to tap into if you want to maximize your box office profits. And that was also going to be a problem, as the mercurial politics of the massive country had put a ban on the release of any movies that had anything to do with images of zombies or ghosts, per the instructions of the rigid Chinese regulations on foreign films entering the country. Because of some shadowy Communist party censorship guidelines that prohibit “promoting cults or superstition,” foreign films featuring zombies, vampires, werewolves, mummies, and ghosts have routinely been excluded from Chinese theaters by government censors. On average, only about 35 foreign films a year are even allowed into the country at all. Past casualties of this strict regulation include 2016 movies like Ghostbusters and the South Korean zombie movie Train to Busan (which still made a bundle as a downloadable offering). It was yet another setback to a sequel that was looking less and less likely to ever get made.

Paramount Had Concerns Over ‘World War Z 2’s Budget

As if World War Z 2 didn’t have enough working against it already, the ever-lurking issue of finances and balancing the books began to emerge. Per The Playlist, Paramount was concerned that the film was going to be too expensive to make. Although it was thought that the film would come in at a price tag of less than the $190 million budget for the first film, with plans to shoot in five different countries, along with a six-week stint in the popular United States filming locations in Georgia, it wasn’t low enough for the studio. Fincher would not come off of his number and in February 2019, Paramount executives decided to part ways with the director over the budget dispute. It’s safe to assume that Paramount was getting a little nervous about footing a bill at Fincher’s amount of close to $200 million, considering that the film would have an “R” rating and be subject to being banned in China over their unusually strict regulations regarding zombie films.

The Future of ‘World War Z 2’ Remains Unclear

They haven’t completely put a fork in the zombie apocalypse sequel just yet. It’s possible that if Paramount can find another director who would be amenable to a significantly smaller shooting budget, the film might still get the green light and eventually make its way to theaters. Pitt and his camp have purportedly approved the script, which is a big hurdle to clear. But getting Pitt to agree to work with another director instead of his friend and longtime collaborator Fincher might be the most difficult obstacle to getting the movie done. Though Fincher is known for wanting to have all his ducks in a row heading into a shoot, it appears that he is no longer a candidate to direct, leaving the future status of the project murky at best. We’re hoping that something can come to fruition, so we can see just how the human race fights back now that they have found a vaccine that makes them invisible to the rabid flesh-eating hordes. Perhaps the antidote has some sort of unforeseen harmful side effects like in I Am Legend and Pitt has to come to the rescue of all mankind for a second time. Here’s to hoping that down the road, we’ll find out — with or without David Fincher.

World War Z is available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.

Watch on Paramount+