World War Z had one of the more complicated productions in Hollywood history, having to deal with seven weeks of additional filming and the entire third act being rewritten. In the end, though, these changes paid off, as the movie based on Max Brooks' same-named book was met with decent reception and made $540 million worldwide. Since then, there have been numerous attempts to get a sequel off the ground, and while it looks like that finally will happen, reportedly World War Z 2's production has been pushed back even further in order to accommodate Pitt joining another movie.
Last night, it was reported that Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio have officially signed on to Quentin Tarantino's next movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which is already scheduled for release on August 9, 2019. As a result, according to Variety reporter Justin Kroll, Paramount has apparently decided to delay World War Z 2's shoot again so that Pitt can collaborate with Tarantino again (the actor previously starred in 2009's Inglorious Basterds). World War Z 2 is now expected to start rolling cameras this fall, so Pitt can have the best of both worlds in 2018.
After numerous setbacks in the immediate years following World War Z's release, World War Z 2 was supposed to come out on June 9, 2017. However, following the departure of director J.A. Bayona in early 2016 and other behind-the-scenes troubles, it was taken off the schedule mere months before that date hit. But it hasn't been all bad news, as last summer, it was finally confirmed not that only David Fincher is returning to direct World War Z 2, but that Brad Pitt will reprise Gerry Lane. While a script for the sequel has been written, back in November, Fincher said that they were still workshopping the story so that it fits into the zombie-filled mythology established by the first movie.
It's been a long, winding road for World War Z 2, and while Brad Pitt joining Once Upon a Time in Hollywood stretches out that road again, hopefully this delay will ultimately be a good thing for the sequel. This will not only extra time to improve the story, but also ensure that the production is on more solid footing compared to what its predecessor went through. After all, rushing a movie rarely works out for all parties involved.
World War Z 2 doesn't have an assigned release date yet, but with the production delay, I imagine that it will hit theaters in late 2019 at the earliest or sometime in 2020. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates about the sequel, and in the meantime, you can plan out your trips to the movie theater this year by scanning through our 2018 release schedule.
