World War Z 2 is taking shape at Paramount Pictures. Brad Pitt will reprise the role of Gerry Lane in this sequel to the 2013 zombie blockbuster, while Edward Berger, the director of Conclave and of All Quiet on the Western Front, has been brought aboard to helm the movie. The screenplay has been entrusted to Dennis Kelly.
Brad Pitt will also be involved in the production alongside Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner for Plan B Entertainment. Edward Berger will serve as executive producer. At this stage, Paramount has not announced any filming dates, production location, or release schedule.
The first World War Z, directed by Marc Forster, followed Gerry Lane, a former United Nations investigator tasked with finding a way to stem a pandemic that turns people into highly aggressive creatures. Released in 2013, the film grossed over $540 million worldwide.
The feature film drew on Max Brooks's novel while taking significant liberties with its structure. Whereas the book gathers survivor testimony after a global zombie war, the adaptation leans toward a linear, action-driven narrative centered on Gerry Lane. Nothing yet suggests whether this sequel will pick up directly from the film’s ending or venture into another corner of the author’s imagined universe.
The development of a second film had already faced several attempts. A previous version, which was to be directed by David Fincher with Brad Pitt, was ultimately abandoned in 2019. The new project led by Edward Berger should not be confused with that canceled production, even though Dennis Kelly had already worked on an earlier draft of the sequel.
Edward Berger teams up again with Brad Pitt here, after having directed him in The Riders, the adaptation of Tim Winton’s novel produced by A24 and Plan B. The German filmmaker has notably won four Oscars with All Quiet on the Western Front, including Best International Feature Film, before directing the political thriller Conclave.
Plot details of World War Z 2 remain under wraps, and no other cast members have been announced yet. The confirmed return of Brad Pitt and the hiring of Edward Berger, however, mark the most concrete milestone this sequel has reached since David Fincher exited the project.
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