The Hollywood Reporter snagged a casually-dropped but surprisingly large update on World War Z 2 from Paramount head Jim Gianopulos during a wide-ranging interview about his taking over for the previous CEO after the studio lost $445 million in one fiscal year, about Baywatch’s disappointing reception, and about — of course — the status of the much-rumored World War Z sequel.
World War Z was Brad Pitt’s highest-grossing movie (almost $540 million worldwide) despite numerous production issues, including rumors Pitt and director Marc Forster weren’t speaking to each other during several weeks of reshoots. It was clear Forster wasn’t coming back for a likely-to-be-profitable sequel, and we’ve been hearing for quite some time that Pitt wanted David Fincher — whom he’s already worked with on Se7en, Fight Club, and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button — to step in to direct the sequel. Reportedly, Fincher was also interested and just needed a nod from Paramount’s new chairman, Jim Gianopulos.
Now, in the interview, Gianopulos’ opinion of Fincher is made clear. Gianopulos confirmed both Fincher and Pitt are working on the World War Z sequel, and it’s “in advanced development.”
This means we can probably expect World War Z 2 to start shooting next year, and hey, maybe they’ll adapt the book this time.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)