World War Z 2 Production Delayed Again, Will We Ever See It?

For those of you hoping thatWorld War Z 2was actually going to begin filming this year, now would be a good time to start tempering expectations. David Fincher, the director behind such cinematic masterworks asSevenandFight Club, has been courted to direct the long-awaited sequel, with the help of his frequent collaborator Brad Pitt, who is set to reprise his role in the follow-up.While Fincher coming on board seemed great, it’s been troublesome actually getting the movie in production and it looks as though things are going to be delayed even further, as Fincher is busy shootingMindhunterfor Netflix.

According to a new report, David Fincher is deep into production onMindhunterseason 2, which should last through the summer, withpost-production taking him into the fall. Unfortunately, that presents a bit of a conflict. We last reported thatWorld War Z 2was finally aiming to shoot in the fall of this year, but withMindhunterclearly taking precedence, as the show was a major hit for Netflix, Fincher has shifted his focus in that direction. At least for now. But where does that leave theWorld War Zsequel?

This latest report also indicates that some location scouting has taken place in Bilbao, Spain, Sweden, Texas and several other locations. The script forWorld War Z 2is still in development. We reported last November that David Fincher was still working out where the story could go, given where the first movie left off. Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) and Dennis Kelly (Utopia) have worked on the current draft of the screenplay, but it’s not quite finished yet and isn’t ready to go. Based on this latest update, it sounds like they are going to haveplenty of time to get it worked out.

There’s also the matter of Brad Pitt. He’s rather busy as well and his schedule can be an issue. He’s currently set to star in Quentin Tarantino’sOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood, which shoots later this year and should keep the actor busy through the fall as well. So, at best, we could hope forWorld War Z 2tobegin production some time next year, but at this point one has to wonder if this is one of those projects that’s just never going to see the light of day.

World War Zwas released in 2013 and, despite arough productionthat ultimately required massive reshoots, the movie turned out reasonably well and made $540 million worldwide. But that was already five years ago. Were it not for the combination of David Fincher and Brad Pitt working together again on a massive blockbuster scale, it would be hard to believe that there was any hope for this project. For now, it sounds likeWorld War Z 2may still happen, but at best, we could possibly be looking at a 2020 release date, if the sequel manages to actually go into production next year. This news comes to us courtesy ofThe Playlist.