By time the aptly titled Zombieland: Double Tap hits theaters, it will be just a little over a full decade since director Ruben Fleischer delivered the smash hit that put his career on the map. Alongside his cast of Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone, the original Zombieland boosted the profile of all involved, and has kept the world wanting another round of zombie killing madness.
Should this new film be successful, there’s a possibility that we’ll get to see Zombieland return yet again, and if Emma Stone has it her way, it'll be after another 10 year wait. This fact came from Ruben Fleischer himself, as he discussed the prospects for a second sequel below:
We have to see how this one’s received and if that’s something audiences would want. But I think we all had so much fun making this one, we’d be really lucky to get to return to Zombieland. Although, I will say, Emma said, she thought it would be fun if we did one of these every ten years. Knowing that Woody’s just the healthiest guy there is, he’s going to outlive all of us, and so we can just keep doing them every ten years, ‘til the end of time.
Most franchises would want to strike while the iron is hot, as the shelf life of a series like Zombieland isn’t always guaranteed. Meanwhile, waiting a decade between films is something that could shoot Zombieland: Double Tap in the foot, as your basic movie math will tell you that the longer you wait to make a sequel, the greater the level of hype will be when trying to live up to expectations.
That hasn’t stopped Rueben Fleischer, nor has it put a damper on Zombieland: Double Tap writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, as they’ve returned with new co-writer David Callaham to bring a new adventure in the lives of Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita and Little Rock to the silver screen after such an extended hiatus.
Skepticism aside, this new sequel does have the advantage of looking like it hasn’t missed a beat with maintaining the zany energy and daffy fun that Zombieland brought to the world in 2009. With an updated coat of paint and some topical humor looking to be hiding beyond what we’ve seen, it doesn’t seem that crazy to want Emma Stone’s wishes of putting out a sequel every 10 years, as reported to EW by Fleischer himself, to come true.
Sequels, while thriving on a typical approach of the faster, the better, might benefit from a slower hand like that of Zombieland: Double Tap. With collaborators eager to get together again and ample time to prepare the idea for the next film, there’s a chance that this new sequel could be one of the best to ever hit the market. Considering the universal response to the pilot to the proposed Amazon series for the original Zombieland, this could be the best case scenario for this would-be franchise.
Zombieland: Double Tap will have folks shambling into theaters on October 18.
