With Halloween less than a week away, the time has come to start dusting off some of those classic horror hits. There are plenty to choose from, but Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead arguably remains one of the most beloved from the last two decades. Rumors have swirled for quite some time about a potential sequel, but Simon Pegg recently spoke out and explained that the rumored, vampire-based sequel ideas came after he and Wright spitballed over drinks. Pegg explained:
I jokingly wrote a treatment for From Dusk Till Shaun, which was a sequel to Shaun of the Dead. It was all about Shaun and Ed having to go up to Edinburgh, or something. I don't know. It was ridiculous. And it was a joke. It wasn't like a serious pitch. Edgar thought it would be funny to do the film again, but with vampires. But it was all just pub talk.
In true sequel fashion, it sounds like the basic concept of From Dusk Till Shaun would've taken the core DNA of the zombie-centric original, and shifted it to a conflict against vampires. That said the idea was something that the two creative men never really intended to make. Per Simon Pegg's recent comments to EW it was more of an intellectual exercise that they discussed at the pub while they waited for the whole thing to blow over. The sequel was never meant to be taken seriously, but even for a lark, the idea isn't half-bad.
This report isn't the first time that a Shaun of the Dead sequel has been addressed by a member of the production. Edgar Wright has also casually mentioned the possibility over the years, while also tempering his enthusiasm with the fact that he would rather do something new than commit years of his life to something repetitive. With that in mind, the fact that a sequel to Shaun of the Dead doesn't appear to be happening doesn't mean that some of the key figures behind the film aren't teaming up in the future. Specifically, Shaun of the Dead stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are currently gearing up to co-star in the upcoming horror comedy, Slaughterhouse Rulez. Even if we never get another installment in the Shaun saga, it's clear that these guys aren't done working together.
The fact that From Dusk Till Shaun was conceived as a joke seems to line up with Edgar Wright's modus operandi as a filmmaker. To date, Wright has never made a sequel for one of his films (unless you count the loose connections of The Cornetto Trilogy), and he has only expressed a real willingness to return to the Baby Driver well as his possible first sequel. From Dusk Till Shaun could probably be awesome if handled correctly, but it doesn't look like it's at the top of anyone's to-do list right now. Pegg himself has only gotten busier as an actor in recent years (particularly with the upcoming release of Mission: Impossible 6) so getting the band back together for this sequel probably wouldn't work out anytime soon.
CinemaBlend will keep you posted with more updates if this Cornetto "pub talk" ever turns into something more serious. Until then, make sure to take a look at our 2017 movie premiere guide and our 2018 movie premiere guide, and check out Edgar Wright's Baby Driver -- which is now available on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD.
