What Would've Happened in the Canceled World War Z Movie Sequel?
In the original 2013 movie (currently airing on SYFY — view the schedule here!), Pitt starred as Gerry Lane, dragged out of retirement and back to his former role as a U.N. investigator, all to stake out the cure for a global zombie disease. The film ended with the game-changing tease that the cure renders zombies unable to detect humans who haven't been infected yet, which in turn set up a possible second film in which society might have fought to reclaim a world already devastated by the zombie apocalypse.
Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Quantum of Solace) directed World War Z, and a similarly big directing name — David Fincher — was intended to be seated at the helm for Pitt's return in the planned (but never made) World War Z sequel. World War Z had been inspired by the same-named 2006 horror novel from author Max Brooks, and a 2012 Los Angeles Times feature flagged the first film as the opening salvo in what was meant to be a full-fledged zombie-themed movie trilogy that would feature Pitt in the ongoing leading role.
Fincher's busy creative schedule, plus budget issues and a changing landscape of cultural standards at the international box office, all reportedly conspired to thwart the studio's attempts at getting a film followup to World War Z past the pre-production stage. By 2019, reports surfaced that plans for the sequel had officially been shelved. But in a more recent 2023 interview with GQ — fresh on the heels of the first TV season of post-apocalyptic creature drama The Last of Us — Fincher opened up about the direction his sequel collaboration with Pitt might have taken.
'It was a little like The Last of Us,' Fincher confided. 'I'm glad that we didn't do what we were doing, because The Last of Us has a lot more real estate to explore the same stuff. In our title sequence, we were going to use the little parasite… they used it in their title sequence, and in that wonderful opening with the Dick Cavett, David Frost-style talk show.'
The Last of Us introduced its zombie-adjacent apocalypse of fungus-infected 'clickers' by showing, right from the start, the domino effect of societal panic that followed from the first reported cases of the disease's quickly-spreading pandemic among humans. Fincher's praise for the series' handling of similarly-themed material came with an additional revelation that his World Ward Z sequel likely would not have followed Brooks' book-based source material any more closely than the first film — but, he intriguingly added, 'there is some talk of doing that.'
With no recent reports from the World War Z front, it's tough to know whether a sequel will ever materialize — or, for that matter, if the franchise might someday be rebooted under new creative direction and a new cast. That means the franchise remains quarantined to only a single movie for now... but at least it's a good one.
Catch Pitt saving the planet from zombies in the original , airing this month on SYFY. Scope the full TV schedule !
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
YouTube Couple Goes Viral After Car Crashes Into Restaurant While They Dine — Watch the Clip
YouTube Couple Goes Viral After Car Crashes Into Restaurant While They Dine — Watch the Clip originally appeared on Parade. YouTube couple Nina Santiago and Patrick Blackwood are going viral after a car unexpectedly crashed through a restaurant window while they were filming a food review. Santiago, who goes by NinaUnrated on social media platforms, and Blackwood were recording themselves indulging on several plates of food when a car crashed into the window beside them mid-bite. In the viral clip, viewers can see glass shatter over Blackwood as the couple quickly jumps out of the booth they were sitting in. Food influencers were hit by a car while reviewing a burger inside a restaurant — FearBuck (@FearedBuck) August 18, 2025 RELATED: Santiago later took to Instagram to share photos of her injuries, showing cuts across her face and arms. Blackwood also appeared to have cuts to his face and chest as well. "I'm beyond grateful to be alive after an SUV crashed through the glass wall at Cuvee's Culinary Creations in Houston, TX, shattering everything while Patrick Blackwood and I recorded an eating show," she captioned her post. "It hit us directly me on his left, him on my right as I bit into a delicious salmon slider. Out of nowhere, but we survived." "This experience showed me who truly matters; life's too short for grudges or anger. Let go, forgive, live in the now, and cherish those around you this could've been our last meal." she continued. Cuvee's Culinary Creations posted a clip of the incident to their Instagram Story, writing, "It was definitely a crazy weekend at Cuvees. We're just thanking God everyone is safe!" The identity of the driver is unknown, but according to TMZ, they did not suffer any injuries. The outlet also reports that police investigated the crash and did not find the driver to be impaired, calling the incident a "freak accident." Santiago first gained recognition as a social media influencer while Blackwood is an athlete and fitness trainer. Both gained popularity on YouTube for their food reviews prior to the accident. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 YouTube Couple Goes Viral After Car Crashes Into Restaurant While They Dine — Watch the Clip first appeared on Parade on Aug 18, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
WWE Raw results, highlights (Aug. 18): Naomi announces pregnancy, relinquishes title
The Women's World title scene has to hit the reset button after "WWE Raw" in Philadelphia. Last week, the champion Naomi was set to defend her title against the former champion Iyo Sky, until she was declared medically unfit to compete earlier in the day. On Monday night, it was revealed why. The best pregnancy announcement of all time? There was a hunch that Naomi would miss a significant amount of time, and that will be the case, as she and Jimmy Uso are officially expecting a child. However, Naomi halted her early character-breaking to maintain her heel work and kicked "Raw" general manager Adam Pearce out of the ring. This was hilarious, and the Women's World Champion did her best to keep it up, but the crowd's chants were making it difficult for her not to break character. Ultimately, she delivered another excellent promo, bragging that she "Netflix and chilled" while warning the roster that she'll be coming for her belt nine months and some change from now. So, now it's about figuring out where to go from here. Admittedly, this couldn't be any more perfect for Stephanie Vaquer, who already had her title shot coming up at Clash in Paris. She already felt like the favorite to get the nod, at least in my eyes, but now, how does WWE not put the title on her ASAP? Nonetheless, she needs to be put back on TV. This feels like a fairly solid opportunity to introduce the teased "new" Bayley into the fold. Still, it's challenging to pinpoint which direction the company will take when Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky are pursuing their own paths. More on that later. EC Dub, EC Dub, EC Dub Seth Rollins' "Vision" kicking off shows just to introduce themselves has gotten tired very, very quickly. What wasn't tired was being in Philadelphia with Paul Heyman, who channeled plenty of references to days past when he ran the land of extreme, ECW. Once interrupted by Jey Uso (because he was wrestling Bron Breakker in the main event), Heyman called back to several ECW legends, ranging from Sabu to New Jack to Rob Van Dam, and even Tommy Dreamer, who took some wild shots. Uso's mic work was, as usual, mediocre, and this segment primarily served as a means to build up to the Breakker match later on, which was adjusted to "Extreme Rules." Talk about an easy way to prevent a DQ. That didn't mean it wasn't obvious what was going to happen. Overbooking, predictability, stupidity There is still no good reason, in kayfabe, why The Vision wouldn't just come out immediately for matches their members are in, especially in matches without disqualifications. Regardless, they did — because, of course, they did. But thanks to Roman Reigns, CM Punk and LA Knight, Uso still got the win. Alright, where do we even start? How about with Uso looking like a complete moron in-story? After two spears and a handful of healthy chair shots, Uso went for a Uso Splash rather than the pin. That was the catalyst to have Bronson Reed pull the referee out of the ring (and his shoes) to incite the most predictable overbooking imaginable, as everyone already mentioned (along with Rollins) arrived on the scene. This was the most moderate, half-hearted, and borderline uncreative way to avoid doing the awful DQ finishes. Breakker and Uso are good together. They always have been. There has been no good reason for Uso to be shoehorned into this, though. The Vision can't be a long-term stable, otherwise they will quickly reach Death Riders territory, if they haven't already for some viewers. (They're still the "Seth Riders" to me, dang it.) Sky is still the limit Raquel Rodriguez deserves better, especially after her match against Iyo Sky, which she lost clean via an Over the Moonsault after Sky took out Roxanne Perez — who beat Sky by roll-up last Monday. Sure, that was because of the mix-up with The Kabuki Warriors, but Rodriguez is a great talent in her own right. I've been pushing for her to get better treatment, so at least the loss came to the former champ, and WWE's very best. This match was excellent, and some of the highlights saw Rodriguez counter a Sky suicide dive, rolling with her and launching her into the ring post. Sky simply can do no wrong right now. She could wrestle a broom and make it awesome. Ultimately, this match is seemingly going to lead to where I want to see it go: A Sky alliance with Rhea Ripley, who made the save after the match when Perez attacked. Sky admittedly erupted after being overwhelmed by The Kabuki Warriors and Ripley arguing backstage, but this is the easiest path to bolstering the tag team division that one could ask for. Especially when it's so desperately needed, considering The Secret Hervice stood tall over Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair on "SmackDown." 🍦 Nerf of the Night WWE essentially mentioned Natalya's outside wrestling appearances just to bury them. If Killer Kross' departure was any evidence of it, WWE really doesn't want wrestlers to get over on their own. Natalya felt that in full force when she lost a relatively quick title match against Becky Lynch. Not only that, she tapped to the Disarmher, which is the complete opposite of what her "Lowkey Legend" character would have done — even with the worked-in arm injury she was selling. It would have been cool to see Natalya get the win here, regardless of what she could do with that outside WWE character. But either way, the contrast of the Intercontinental title is stark to the U.S. on "SmackDown." Lynch went on to attack Maxxine Dupri and Akira Tozawa, which progressed toward Lynch vs. Nikki Bella, who made the save and stood tall over Lynch. It's whatever, but no one should be expecting Lynch to lose that match. 👍 MONDAY NIGHT MONEY 👍 1. Penta pinned Xavier Woods after he hit a Mexican Destroyer. There were some New Day shenanigans, but it was a good, wholesome match. Let's please get Penta doing something of significance now because The New Day have practically become low-key heel jobbers. 2. Another Bayley vignette progressed what appears to be an impending evolution — or descent into madness. These have been excellent so far, and really hit on Bayley's past gimmicks. 3. Angry Pearce is the best Pearce, as he screamed backstage to separate Rusev and Sheamus to announce their Donnybrook match at Clash in Paris. When examining their matches so far, it's safe to assume that it will be absolute madness. 👎 RAW DEAL 👎 1. Uso's promos still include him mentioning "tapping out Gunther." This. Is. Insane. It's almost as if Triple H wants to bury Gunther, but knows he can't or something. Are we supposed to completely forget that Gunther beat Uso clean the last time they wrestled? Hence why Uso is no longer the champion. What is this, man? Why is this being hung onto? 2. Unless there were some mic issues, the Philadelphia crowd was painfully silent for Sky's entrance — a shameful reaction for the best wrestler in this company. 👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑 It's nice to see that DQs are starting to fade, or at least occur less frequently. When they do, we get to see seriously epic matches like The Judgment Day vs. Mr. Iguana and Dragon Lee. Everyone involved in this match worked together wonderfully, but specifically, JD McDonagh and Lee. Some of the sequences they delivered ruled. To the extent that the limited story depth was here, it didn't matter. Iguana is just good, over wrestling fun, no matter the ring he's in. Aside from being fun all around, it furthered the interconnection with AAA and Dominick Mysterio's upcoming world title match against El Hijo del Vikingo. If chaos is going to ensue, it can happen after the match is over. This was great. 👑 This might have been a much better show on the scoring scale than I'm giving it credit for, but it ultimately just didn't feel that exciting or entertaining, despite some very solid matches. I give this show a Crown score of: 6.5/10. 👑
Digital Trends
42 minutes ago
- Digital Trends
Starship's 10th flight won't include that magical maneuver
SpaceX is gearing up for the 10th launch of the Starship, the most powerful rocket ever to fly. Whether you're watching this weekend's launch online or in person, the Starship flights from SpaceX's Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas, are always dramatic, with the massive 121-meter-tall rocket generating an astonishing 17 million pounds of thrust as the vehicle roars away from the launchpad. Recommended Videos Just a few minutes into the flight, all being well, the upper-stage Starship spacecraft will separate from the first-stage Super Heavy booster. In three of its nine test flights to date, the 71-meter-tall Super Heavy booster has performed a spectacular — and autonomous — landing back at the launch site, with a pair of giant mechanical arms on the launch tower securing the descending rocket just meters above the ground. But for its 10th flight, SpaceX has said it won't be attempting the catch, instead sending the Super Heavy booster into the ocean in a controlled splashdown. The absence of the impressive maneuver during the upcoming test mission will come as a big disappointment for many Starship fans who were hoping to witness the catch (you can watch an earlier one instead). SpaceX has decided to forgo the landing because one of the goals of the 10th flight includes testing a steeper — and therefore riskier — descent angle for the booster as part of efforts to improve the rocket's efficiency. Of course, it could attempt the steeper descent while bringing the rocket back to Starbase, but that would risk damaging the launch tower, which is a costly and crucial part of the facility. So, bringing the Super Heavy down in the ocean lets SpaceX test the descent process while minimizing risk. Future flights will see the launch tower come back into use for landings, hopefully soon. Catching the booster in this way allows SpaceX to reuse it for multiple missions, just like it does now with its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. In upcoming tests, SpaceX also wants to land the Starship spacecraft back at Starbase so that it can reuse that as well.
