‘Zombieland 2’ Back On Fast Track With New Writer
Much like the characters implied by the title,Zombieland 2keeps coming back to life. The original writers,Rhett ReeseandPaul Wernick, have been thinking about a sequel for years and eventually spun some of those ideas into a Amazon TV pilot. The show was not picked up, and most thought that was the end. Like a good zombie, however, the feature version ofZombieland 2is now rising from the grave.
A new report says Sony Pictures has hiredDave Callaham, writer of the first twoExpendablesmovies, to pen a sequel withRuben Fleischerexpected to return and direct.
Deadlinebroke theZombieland 2news.
The originalZombielandopened in 2009 and was a surprise hit, grossing over $100 million worldwide. There were immediately talks about the sequel and there was even ascript as early as 2010.
At that time,there were reportsthat Jesse Eisenberg was already on board the project, which was looking for a new comedic villain and a rival to Woody Harrelson’s Tallahassee. They were also hoping to populate the film with cameos like the Bill Murray one in the original film. Again though, that was when Reese and Wernick were still writing. The new writer suggests anything we knew before could be wiped clean.
The Deadline report says Fleischer will be overseeing Callaham’s script and is expected to direct but hasn’t signed anything yet. The same is said for all of the stars, many of which have since become much more bankable – a definite reason why this film is now seeing a resurgence. While the studio would obviously want as many of them back as possible, nothing set in stone outside of Callaham. If his script comes in and does the job, things could be moving very quickly. Fleischerhas a few thingson the horizon, but nothing happening imminently (as evidence by his inclusion in theAnt-Mandiscussions earlier this year).
Do you think people still want to seeZombieland 2?
