Brad Pitt to Star, Edward Berger to Direct World War Z Sequel for Paramount
Brad Pitt will pick up his fight against the undead. Paramount has closed a deal for Pitt to star in a sequel to World War Z, with Edward Berger set to direct, Deadline reported exclusively on 18 September.
Pitt will also produce the film alongside Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner for Plan B Entertainment, the actor’s production company. Berger will take an executive producer credit, a senior role that usually involves creative oversight without day-to-day management. Dennis Kelly will write the script, according to Deadline.
The pairing grew out of another shoot. Pitt and Berger recently wrapped production on The Riders, a psychological thriller for A24 and Scott Free, The Hollywood Reporter reported. Pitt raised the idea of World War Z 2 during filming. Berger agreed by the end of production, and Paramount closed deals with both men in recent weeks, Deadline reported.
The sequel has been a long time coming. The original World War Z, directed by Marc Forster and released in 2013, earned more than $540 million at the worldwide box office, Deadline reported. Pitt played Gerry Lane, a former United Nations worker who travels the world in search of a cure for the zombie outbreak, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film was based on Max Brooks’ 2006 bestselling novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. Its third act was rewritten and reshot before release, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
Several directors have circled a follow-up since then. J.A. Bayona was once attached to an earlier version, The Hollywood Reporter reported. Pitt later pursued David Fincher, but Fincher left over budget issues and the project was put on hold, Deadline reported. That version was scrapped in 2019, according to Variety.
Paramount put the project back on the calendar this year. Studio leaders told exhibitors at CinemaCon in April that a sequel was in active development, Variety reported. After Skydance took over Paramount in 2025, the sequel became one of the studio’s top priorities, The Hollywood Reporter reported. Co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg prioritised the title after taking charge of Paramount Pictures, according to Deadline.
Berger is the German film-maker behind All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave, Variety reported. Kelly won a Tony Award for writing the book for Matilda: The Musical, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
For fans, this means details are still scarce. Plot details for the sequel are being kept under wraps, Variety reported. Pitt will next be seen in Paramount’s survival thriller Heart of the Beast, directed by David Ayer about a Special Forces officer and his combat dog stranded in Alaska after a plane crash. It opens on 25 September, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
