Los Angeles, September 19: Hollywood star Brad Pitt is returning as Gerry Lane for the long-awaited sequel to the 2013 zombie thriller World War Z, with Oscar-winning filmmaker Edward Berger set to direct the new installment.
The sequel is being developed by Paramount Pictures and will feature a screenplay by British writer Dennis Kelly, according to Variety. Plot details are currently being kept confidential.
Pitt will also serve as a producer through Plan B Entertainment alongside Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner. Berger will join the project as an executive producer.
The film will reunite Pitt and Berger following their work together on The Riders, an upcoming psychological thriller adapted from Tim Winton’s novel. Their latest collaboration adds further interest to the new chapter in the franchise.
The original World War Z, directed by Marc Forster, featured Pitt as Gerry Lane, a former United Nations investigator who is forced back into action when a rapidly spreading zombie outbreak threatens governments and populations around the world.
Adapted from Max Brooks’ 2006 novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, the movie followed Lane as he travelled across several countries while attempting to discover the source of the outbreak and identify a way to contain it.
The first film also featured Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale and Daniella Kertesz. It collected more than USD 540 million globally and became the highest-grossing zombie movie at the time of its release.
The follow-up has faced several setbacks over the years. Director David Fincher was previously attached to the project, with Pitt also expected to return, but that version was ultimately abandoned in 2019.
Paramount announced in April that another World War Z movie was in development, although the studio did not initially disclose the director or returning cast.
Berger brings an acclaimed filmmaking record to the project. He won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for All Quiet on the Western Front and subsequently directed the 2024 papal thriller Conclave.
Pitt most recently appeared in F1: The Movie as veteran Formula One driver Sonny Hayes. His upcoming projects include David Ayer’s survival thriller Heart of the Beast and The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, in which he returns as the character from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood