For years, World War Z 2 has been one of those sequels that seemed destined to remain a Hollywood “what if”. There were directors, scripts, development announcements and eventually silence. Now, more than a decade after Brad Pitt raced across the world trying to stay one step ahead of a zombie pandemic, Paramount is taking another shot at the franchise.

Brad Pitt is officially set to return for a new World War Z film, with All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave filmmaker Edward Berger attached to direct. Dennis Kelly is writing the screenplay, while Pitt will also produce through Plan B alongside Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner. Plot details have not been revealed.

That last part is important because, despite the familiar title, we currently have no confirmed information about where Gerry Lane’s story will go next or how closely the sequel might draw from Max Brooks’ original book.

A sequel that has already died once

The first World War Z arrived in 2013 and was loosely based on Brooks’ 2006 novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. Rather than copying the novel’s oral-history format, the film turned the material into a globe-spanning thriller centred on Pitt’s former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane.

It became a major commercial success, earning more than $540 million worldwide. Unsurprisingly, sequel plans followed. The problem was getting one made. J.A. Bayona was attached at one stage, while David Fincher later became involved in what could have been a particularly interesting reunion with Pitt. That version ultimately fell apart in 2019.

For many fans, that seemed to be the end of it.

Apparently, zombies are difficult to kill.

Why Edward Berger makes this interesting

The most intriguing part of the new announcement may be Berger. This is not simply Paramount dusting off an old franchise and attaching whichever available blockbuster director happens to be nearby.

Berger directed the acclaimed All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave and has already worked with Pitt on A24’s The Riders. Dennis Kelly is also an interesting choice for the screenplay, with credits that include Utopia and Matilda the Musical.

That still tells us absolutely nothing about the eventual tone, story or scale of the movie, but it gives the project a creative team worth watching.

And what about the book?

This is where World War Z has always been fascinating as an adaptation.

Brooks’ novel is not really the story the 2013 movie told. It is structured as a series of interviews conducted after the zombie war, exploring how different societies, governments and ordinary people survived a global catastrophe.

There is consequently an enormous amount of material and world-building that a future movie could potentially explore.

Whether the filmmakers intend to use more of it is completely unknown.

For now, the genuinely important news is much simpler: World War Z 2 has returned from development hell, Brad Pitt is coming back and Paramount has Edward Berger directing.

After 13 years and several failed attempts, that alone is quite a resurrection.