Paramount’s zombie problem never stayed dead. Back in 2013, World War Z sprinted into theaters with Brad Pitt trying to outrun a global outbreak and save his family from hordes of zombies. The sci-fi horror film made money and headlines, even if Max Brooks’ 2006 novel only got the “loosely inspired” treatment instead of a faithful page-to-screen translation. Now, more than a decade later, the studio’s talking about World War Z 2 like it’s back on the menu.
The Hollywood Reporter says the World War Z sequel sits on the “priority” list after a press meeting with David Ellison, the new chairman and CEO of the recently merged Paramount Skydance Corporation. Ellison name-dropped heavy hitters like Star Trek, Top Gun, and Transformers, then quietly slid World War Z into the same list of blockbusters.
Ellison also said he wants Paramount to be “the No. 1 destination for the most talented artists and filmmakers in the world,” and he’s pushing for more theatrical exclusives, including horror and R-rated comedies. So, you can see where a sequel to the zombie classic fits in.
World War Z 2 once had Pitt returning and David Fincher directing, then Paramount cancelled it in 2019. Pitt later said the sequel’s story was “really good,” which is either the cruelest compliment in Hollywood or a clue that there’s still something worth saving.
And that’s exactly where Dan Trachtenberg (Predator: Badlands, Predator: Killer of Killers, Prey, 10 Cloverfield Lane) enters. Now that he has signed a three-year first-look deal with Paramount, The InSneider is speculating that signs might point him toward directing World War Z. If you’ve watched his work, you know he can build tension, keep action clean, and make genre stuff feel sharp instead of sloppy.
If Paramount hands him the keys, there are a number of ways a sequel could go. For example, they could show how the film’s vaccine actually reaches people when zombies can run and even catch helicopters. They could consider a time skip so the world changes, not just the cast. And if you want to win back book fans, lean into the interview-style idea from Brooks’ novel, maybe as an anthology angle.
Mireille Enos already sounds ready. “We were all lined up to go,” she said on The Big Ticket podcast. “We had Fincher, we had a beautiful script and then it just didn’t happen. It seems like such a shame for it not to be made. The first one was so good.”
So yeah, World War Z 2 could be back from the dead. And Dan Trachtenberg might be the cure.
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