Talk of Zombieland 2 has been circulating for years. Ever since the 2009 original made waves with critics and moviegoers around the globe. Screenwriting pair Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese would eventually turn their attention to Marvel's Deadpool. And, with that movie smashing all types of records and expectations in the process, people are still eager to understand if a sequel to the Woody Harrelson zombie comedy will actually take place.
The duo outlined this week that the pieces of the puzzle are there to get the project off the ground. The lead star of the franchise has a packed schedule. And let's not forget the number of other cast members filling their timetables with other productions. It will take some planning to get them all to agree together.
Zombieland: What Happens When A Sleeper Wakes Up
Developed off a modest $23.6m back in 2009, Zombieland went on to surpass any projections the filmmakers had for the offbeat installment. Going on to secure a sizeable $102.4m at the box office. Fast forward 8 years we have an Oscar for Emma Stone and the upward trajectory of Jesse Eisenberg. And now all of a sudden the task has become more difficult.
"It is (in active development). We're trying to get it going," remarked the writers. "All of our cast have read the script and love it. Ruben (Fleischer) is signed on. It's just a matter of making our cast deals and making it for a budget number. All the cast have become superstars now so, we made Zombieland with $20m, so it's trying to fit that financial model into the sequel model so it makes sense for the studio and being able to pay the actors what they now get paid and deserve to paid."
Reese and Wernick a Dog with a Bone
Off the back of the original feature and Deadpool as a period of serious success, the writers admit that they are applying pressure to the right people where it counts.
"We see (Sony Pictures chairman) Tom Rothman pretty frequently now and we're pestering that dude. He's like, 'Please, enough with the Zombieland talk!' We're pestering him the way we pestered Fox on Deadpool. We're not letting it go. We really want to see Zombieland 2."
Zombie films have been hit and miss of late as the grande enterprise that was 2013's World War Z would eventually overtake their success on the big screen commercially speaking. But that sequel has all but fallen down as the AMC series The Walking Dead appears to have dominated the market for a serious version of the genre, seeing comedies like Zombieland, iZombie and Dawn of the Dead earning some traction as parodies.
Source: CB
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