'World War Z' Sequel From Director David Fincher Killed by Paramount
The sequel to "World War Z" is dead and unlikely to come back to life.
The follow-up to the 2013 zombie drama starring Brad Pitt was just months from starting production, but Paramount has pulled the plug on the project, according to The Playlist.
The sequel would've reunited Pitt with David Fincher, the director of "Fight Club" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
The decision is reportedly based on budget issues, though Paramount recently threw a bunch of money at green lighting two more "Mission: Impossible" movies.
"World War Z 2" spent a long time in development. After the first movie (directed by Marc Forster) became a box office hit, Paramount immediately hired J.A. Bayona to direct a sequel and gave it a June 2017 release date.
In 2016, Bayona left the project and Pitt recruited Fincher to step in. Rough plans were made to shoot in late spring or summer this year (after Fincher was done editing his Netflix serial killer drama "Mindhunter").
But now, those plans have been scrapped. Collider reports that Paramount was uncomfortable with Fincher's budget and it's possible that the project could eventually go through with a different director. Then again, Pitt may not want to go forward without Fincher, and no Pitt, no movie.