Upon its release in 2009, Zombieland made an impressive splash. Arriving at the height of Hollywood’s zombie craze, the film played off of familiar genre tropes, creating a post-apocalyptic world that never took itself too seriously and presented a peek into the hilarious side of the living dead. It was a modest success, earning nearly $100 million worldwide and generating largely positive reviews from both critics and fans.
Starring Jesse Eisenberg (Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice) as “Columbus,” a young man attempting to reach his family in Ohio, Woody Harrelson (True Detective) as “Tallahassee,” a no nonsense tough guy just looking for another taste of Twinkies, and Emma Stone (Birdman, The Amazing Spider-Man) as “Wichita,” who along with her sister “Little Rock,” played by Abigail Breslin (Scream Queens), just wanted to make it to an amusement park. The tongue-in-cheek approach of Zombieland, as well as some top notch cameos (most notable from Bill Murray, playing himself as a pretend zombie), led to the film acquiring a cult-status of sorts, with fans clamoring for more. Now, it seems as those fans may get their wish.
Bloody Disgusting reports that filming for the Zombieland sequel is set to begin this August in Atlanta. While the news is still a rumor, it’s the latest in a long line of indications that Sony is moving forward with the sequel, which has been in some stage of development for years. Specifics are scant at the moment, but a quick recap of the long line of events gives some indication of what fans might expect.
In 2014, it was reported that Sony was looking to Dave Callaham (The Expendables, Godzilla) to pen the script, taking over for the original writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Deadpool). Zombieland’s original director Ruben Fleischer (Gangster Squad) was to oversee the development of the script and was reportedly set to return to helm the sequel. Since then, Reese and Wernick have confirmed their return to the sequel as producers.
Earlier this year, Eisenberg discussed the film’s development and difficult road to production. At the time, Eisenberg said,
“I know they’ve been trying to do it for a while, and I know they’re trying to figure out exactly what will occur in it…So it’s a thing you have to get right. I would hope that it happens, and I’m sure everybody would be happy to do it if it happens and it’s good.”
That alone was enough to pique the interest of fans, whose hopes were further stoked by the reveal of a logo for Zombieland 2 at CinemaCon earlier this month, as Comicbook.com reported.
One possible impediment to making Zombieland 2 is the current standing of the original cast. The stars of the film have seen their stock rise since the release of the first movie. As such, it might not only be difficult to get the original cast back given their busy schedules, but their respective salaries could now be cost prohibitive for the film.
Of course, without an official notice from Sony, it’s hard to predict anything about the supposed sequel, or even confirm it as anything other than a rumor at this point. But the possibility is tantalizing, to say the least. A trip back into Zombieland has the potential to please audiences again, if it’s done correctly. For now, fans have little more than hopes and dreams, but those are both a little brighter than they were yesterday.
We will keep you posted on Zombieland 2 developments as they arise.
Source: ScreenRant