Overview
- Paramount closed deals Friday, September 18, 2026, that secure Brad Pitt’s return to star and name Edward Berger as the film’s director.
- British writer Dennis Kelly has been hired to write the screenplay and Pitt will produce through his Plan B banner alongside Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner.
- Paramount says plot details, production start dates and release timing remain undisclosed while core talent and producing partners are being locked in.
- The project ends more than a decade of stalled development that saw directors J. A. Bayona and David Fincher attached at different times and earlier plans canceled over budget and market concerns, including China’s past restrictions on zombie films.
- Studio leadership changes at Paramount and renewed backing from partners such as Skydance are driving the push to relaunch the franchise and could make financing and a wide theatrical rollout more likely if the script and schedule align.