After more than a decade of false starts, World War Z 2 is finally moving forward — and Brad Pitt is officially returning as Gerry Lane.

Paramount has closed a deal for Pitt to reprise his leading role in the long-awaited sequel to the 2013 zombie blockbuster, with acclaimed filmmaker Edward Berger attached to direct. The news marks the latest attempt to bring the franchise back to the big screen after years of development delays. 

Brad Pitt Is Back as Gerry Lane

Pitt will once again play Gerry Lane, the former United Nations investigator who was pulled into the middle of a rapidly spreading global zombie outbreak in the original film.

Released in 2013, World War Z became a major box-office success, earning more than $540 million worldwide. The film was directed by Marc Forster and was inspired by Max Brooks’ 2006 novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. 

While the original movie took considerable liberties with Brooks’ book, it established its own cinematic version of the zombie apocalypse, centred around Gerry’s race to understand the outbreak and find a way for humanity to survive.

Edward Berger Will Direct the Sequel

The sequel will be directed by Edward Berger, the filmmaker behind All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave.

Berger and Pitt are already collaborators. The pair recently worked together on The Riders, an upcoming A24 project, and reports indicate that discussions about World War Z 2 developed while they were working on that film. 

The screenplay will be written by Dennis Kelly, whose credits include Matilda: The Musical. Plot details are currently being kept under wraps, so it remains unclear exactly where the sequel will take Gerry Lane’s story. 

A Sequel That Has Taken Years to Reach the Screen

World War Z 2 has had a remarkably long journey.

After the success of the first film, several filmmakers were considered for the sequel. J.A. Bayona was attached before leaving the project, and David Fincher later became involved in 2017. Fincher’s version ultimately fell apart, with budget concerns contributing to the project’s collapse in 2019. 

For years, the sequel appeared to be another major Hollywood project that would never happen.

That changed with Paramount’s renewed development of the film. The studio announced at CinemaCon earlier this year that a new World War Z project was in development, although details about the cast and creative team were initially kept secret. 

What Could World War Z 2 Be About?

For now, Paramount is keeping the story confidential.

The original movie ended with Gerry discovering that humans could potentially avoid being targeted by the infected by using a particular vaccine-based strategy. That discovery offered humanity a possible way to fight back against the outbreak.

Whether the sequel will continue directly from that ending has not been confirmed.

There is also no official release date yet, and Paramount has not announced the wider cast or production schedule. 

Brad Pitt’s Growing List of Upcoming Projects

World War Z 2 adds another major franchise project to Pitt’s increasingly busy schedule.

The actor is also returning as Cliff Booth for The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, David Fincher’s follow-up to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, written by Quentin Tarantino. Pitt is currently promoting Heart of the Beast, which arrives in cinemas on September 25, while his collaboration with Berger on The Riders is also awaiting release. 

For zombie fans, however, the biggest question is now whether World War Z 2 can finally make it all the way from development to production.

After 13 years of abandoned plans and changing directors, Gerry Lane is officially coming back.