Paramount Pictures is pressing ahead with its plans for a sequel to World War Z, after almost losing director J.A. Bayona (The Impossible) to Universal for the upcoming Jurassic World 2.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal wanted Bayona to succeed Colin Trevorrow on the blockbuster dinosaur franchise, although the filmmaker is tied to a holding deal for World War Z 2.
It seems, the possibility of losing its director has prompted Paramount to step up development on the follow-up to the 2013 zombie thriller, with the studio bringing in British writer Dennis Kelly, creator of Utopia, to rewrite Steven Knight’s (Burnt) draft of the script.
World War Z is set for release on June 9th 2017, while Bayona’s next film A Monster Calls will arrive in October of next year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=W04aXcyQ0NQ
Originally published October 31, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
