David Fincher is known for directing some of the darkest thrillers in Hollywood. He has made films such as Seven, Zodiac, Fight Club, Panic Room etc. The director is known for his exploration of the dark side of the human psyche and has earned a trademark for making films that do a deep dive into criminals and serial killers.
Fincher was once confirmed to direct the sequel to actor Brad Pitt’s zombie action film World War Z, and the film was well into pre-production before being canceled. In a recent interview, the filmmaker mentions the plans that he had for the sequel that was apparently used by the recent HBO series The Last of Us.
Why Was The World War Z Sequel Canceled?
The Brad Pitt starrer World War Z was based on the novel of the same name by Max Brooks. While the film heavily deviated from the source material, it was a box-office success, earning over $540 million. The film was directed by Marc Forster, who mentioned that the makers were planning a trilogy.
After the success of the film, Paramount Pictures greenlit a sequel. The sequel was initially shelved due to the original’s production troubles and budgetary concerns, but the film’s success led to it being officially greenlit. Jurassic World director JA Bayona was initially tapped to direct the feature, but he ultimately dropped out after production delays.
Ace director David Fincher entered into negotiations to direct the film and was officially hired in 2017. The sequel would reunite him with actor Brad Pitt, with whom he had worked in the films Fight Club, Seven, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The film was delayed yet again due to David Fincher’s commitment to Netflix’s Mindhunter.
The film was officially canceled in 2019 despite months of pre-production. One of the primary reasons for the cancelation was cited to be the ban on zombie movies in China, which was Hollywood’s biggest overseas market. The news was reported by a source from The Hollywood Reporter.
David Fincher’s Ideas For The Sequel Was Seen In The Last Of Us
Since the cancelation of the sequel, David Fincher has worked on the second season of Mindhunter, the biopic Mank, the show Love, Death & Robots, and is awaiting the release of his neo-noir black comedy The Killer. The zombie film has also not died down as many films and series such as Army of the Dead, The Dead Don’t Die, and the show The Last of Us have been acclaimed.
The HBO show The Last of Us was last year’s breakout show, based on the popular video game. The show depicts a pandemic that causes zombie-like symptoms in a person affected by a fungal infection and the resulting collapse in society. The show was critically acclaimed and has been nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards.
David Fincher, in a recent interview with GQ, mentioned that his ideas for the World War Z sequel were similar to what was done in The Last of Us. He specifically mentioned the opening scene in the show which depicts the science behind the fungus on a day-time talk show. He said,
“Well, it was a little like The Last of Us. I’m glad that we didn’t do what we were doing because The Last of Us has a lot more real estate to explore the same stuff. In our title sequence, we were going to use the little parasite… they used it in their title sequence, and in that wonderful opening with the Dick Cavett, David Frost-style talk show.”
There has been no news regarding the future of the World War Z sequel, despite there being considerable interest in the genre after the series.
