THE DEAD TIMES
DEAD ARE COMING...
2019 Preview - Part 1: Movies
Greetings ghoul-followers and welcome to 2019! Something strange has happened, ethereal and unearthly, unexplainable and incomprehensible, both joyous and terrible at the same time. There appears to have been an explosion in Zombie popularity - I don't know where it came from or how it happened but am so eternally glad to see it happen! Naturally, being a long running - and award-winning - reporter of all things dead, I would like to claim at least some of the credit for this resurgence but, I expected no more than a gradual trickle, even ashamedly a noticeable decline, not a true grotesquely glorious flood! In fact, so much is happening this year that I've had to take two unprecedented steps; 1) limit myself to only things confirmed to be happening - no wild rumours or unsubstantiated nonsense and 2) split this year-long preview into three parts.
This first part takes a look at all the incredible Zombie movies happening in 2019.
Zombieland 2
The sequel to Zombieland, for a time, the top-grossing Zombie movie ever made, has been rumoured and highly anticipated for almost a decade. Now, the sequel has finally been confirmed, and a tight schedule set, seeing the movies release in October 2019. You can rest assured that the film is in safe hands too; Ruben Fleischer, the director of the original, is returning to the directorial chair, the scriptwriters who penned the marvellous original are back, Gavin Polone is returning as producer and the original four major cast members are reprising their roles. As for the story, it's a direct sequel taking place ten years after the first movie left off. The trusty band of four will be facing new, possibly mutated Zombies that have evolved over the ten-year gap as well as encountering other human survivors of the Zombie outbreak. Their main trouble however, will come from their own snarky, makeshift family.
World War Z 2
This one is a bit of a cheeky addition to the list as, with filming scheduled for June 2019, I very much doubt we'll see a public screening before 2020. Still I'm super excited for this one for three main reasons; 1) it is actually happening given all the development hell that went on behind the scenes, 2) it is the sequel to what is still the highest-grossing Zombie movie of all time and, 3) it is being directed by the amazing David Fincher, who has previously directed Brad Pitt (yes, he will be returning in the film) in the legendary Fight Club. All those three points make me believe this single movie, aside from Zombieland 2, has the best chance yet of rekindling the, arguably flagging, Zombie genre.
Night of the Living Dead Part II
This film is going to be an adaption of the sequel to 1968's Night of the Living Dead, which was scripted - presumably in incomplete form - by the writers of the original but never actually turned into a film. Of course, it's very easy to get overly excited by the announcement of a continuation to a classic but, for me, the film does raise some interesting questions such as; why was the film not produced when the script was written, more than 40 years ago and how did Living Dead Media - the company producing the film - get access to such an official script from so long ago?
Train to Busan sequel
Train to Busan, 2016's South-Korean hit about a train journey from Seoul Station to Busan, is getting a sequel and filming is set to start in 2019. The exact story details are under wraps for now but the film is definitely not going to be Train to Busan 2 - it's set in the same Zombie-infested Korea but the characters from the original will not be returning, instead dealing with the aftermath on the peninsula of what happened in Train to Busan.
The Dead Don't Die
This is a Zombie-comedy film with Bill Murray in it - need I say more? Murray was one of the surprise highlights of 2009's, laugh-out-loud hit, Zombieland, so, even though there is next to no information anywhere about this upcoming movie, his presence alone has to make it a must-see.
The Walking Dead TV movie trilogy
And so, we come to the putrefying, undead elephant in the room that is The Walking Dead. This series has gone up and down in success more times than is healthy in the near-decade since its launch. Now, there's no doubting that we are currently going through the programmes worst 'bad patch' to date (a quick look at the fast-declining ratings show as much) but perhaps a series of movies, three sounds like a good number, could bring the show back. What's more, Rick Grimes - the legendary hero who is at the main focus of the franchise and who left AMC's TV show in 2018 - will be returning in at least one of these movies.
Resident Evil movie reboot
Paul W. S. Anderson's series of movies set in the classic Resident Evil franchise certainly divided audiences with their all-action approach. Still, they did raise a tonne of money for Screen Gems (the company who owns the rights) earning the prestigious accolade of the highest-grossing film series based on a video game. It comes as no surprise then that the movie franchise is being rebooted. Not much is known about the exact form of the reboot but rumours abound that it may focus on horror this time around (a thrilling prospect). With production set to begin in 2019 - more will be divulged in the coming months.
Train to Busan English-language remake
It's been announced. It's happening. James Wan of Saw fame is producing. Gary Dauberman - the writer of IT and The Nun - is writing the script. That is, literally, all we know.
Nightmare City remake
What more can be said about this project that's not been said already? It is a remake of the 1980's running-Zombie film, Nightmare City, set to be directed by Tom Savini; legendary SFX artist and director of the superb Night of the Living Dead 1990 remake. Following a highly successful Indiegogo campaign in 2015, the movie has been locked in the development doldrums ever since. Hopefully, we'll hear a lot more from this ambitious project in 2019.
Rise of the Living Dead
Rise of the Living Dead, launched after a semi-successful Indiegogo campaign under the name of Origins, is a really exciting movie that appears to have sunk into the quagmire of film hell - little being said about it apart from occasional "it's still happening" promises. According to the director and producer, George Cameron Romero - son of the late, great George A. Romero - the film will be a prequel to Night of the Living Dead and tell the story of how one geneticist's research, a fascination of the US military and the inexorable pull of power, wealth and greed set loose the unholiest of terrors upon mankind. What is even more exciting is that, before his tragic death in July 2017, George A. Romero, "Godfather of the Dead", read the script and thought it was pure genius - an accolade that must get any avid Zombie fan in high spirits.
George A. Romero presents; Road of the Dead
Okay, this one is another I had to include because it is officially sanctioned by lord of the creeping death, George Romero. Despite its wonder though, the future of the project, following Romero's death, is far from clear - indeed, nothing has been heard for months leading to fears that the project has been cancelled. The film was to be set in the same universe as Land of the Dead, six years after the events of Fiddler's Green. The new last safe place on Earth is not actually safe at all as a mad king uses the spectacle of high-octane races and carnage, involving the undead, to keep control of his motley empire. Said to be Road Warrior meets Rollerball at a Nascar race with inspirations from Ben-Hur, this mash-up of genres was scheduled to be directed by Matt Birman. Here's hoping 2019 brings some more information.
DESCRIPTION:
With 2019 now upon us, it's time to look ahead at all the goretastic Zombie offerings lined-up for this year. This first part, chronicles all the movies scheduled to be happening.
CATEGORY:
Preview of the Dead
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DATE UPLOADED:
03/01/2019