'World War Z 2' will feature the return of Brad Pitt in the lead role but lost its director Juan Antonio Bayona. The film, scheduled to be released on June 9, 2017, will be competing with other highly anticipated films in the slot.
According to Deadline, the upcoming sequel to Marc Forster's 2013 release of the same name will feature the return of Brad Pitt in the lead role as Gerry Lane. Pitt's character was first introduced as a former United Nations investigator tasked at examining the fatal international pandemic causing terrible zombie outbreaks across the globe.
The first film was based on the 2006 novel of the same name authored by Max Brooks and it was adapted on the big screen through a screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goddard and Damon Lindelof. It received positive reviews, being regarded as a realistic revival of the classic zombie genre, and received mainstream and commercial success.
Juan Antonio Bayona of 'The Orphanage' fame was originally attached to direct the sequel but exited the project just recently due to scheduling conflicts. According to 1428 Elm, Paramount Pictures announced the news saying, "Bayona is no longer able to make World War Z 2 this year, and it is our ambition to do so. He is a wonderful director and we hope to work with him soon."
It was reported that Bayona may have needed more time to work on 'World War Z 2' but the studio was insisting on a certain timeline that the filmmaker couldn't deliver.
The new script for 'World War Z 2' is being developed by Steven Knight and Dennis Kelly. It is scheduled to be released on June 9, 2017. According to Fangoria, Tom Cruise's upcoming 'The Mummy' reboot is also slated on the same day, making it imminent that the two highly anticipated films will compete for box office earnings on the opening weekend. Lionsgate/Summit's 'The Divergent Series: Ascendant' will also hit theaters on the same day.
'World War Z 2' is an upcoming science-fiction and horror film starring Brad Pitt in the lead role. It is intended as the sequel to Marc Forster's film of the same name released in 2013. It is scheduled to premiere on June 9, 2017.
