Back in 2009, whenZombielandhit theaters, it served as a breakout hit for not only rising starJesse Eisenberg, but also for directorRuben Fleischerand writersRhett ReeseandPaul Wernick. The movie earned over $102 million worldwide, from a $23 million budget, and there was talk ofZombieland 2shortly thereafter. During a new interview withEntertainment Weekly,Jesse Eisenbergteases that he’d love to do the sequel, although it isn’t known when it may move forward.
“Yeah, it’d be wonderful to do. I know they’ve been trying to do it for a while, and I know they’re trying to figure out exactly what will occur in it. But it’s a kind of movie that, as soon as it came out, seemed appropriate to generate a sequel. It takes place in this odd, created world and features an ensemble of interestingcharactersthat it’d be curious to see more of. I would hope that it happens, and I’m sure everybody would be happy to do it if it happens and it’s good. It’s also a strangely beloved movie, so it’s a thing you have to get right. Some sequels you don’t have to get exactly right, but this is the kind of movie you have to get right because people like it for personal reasons, even though it’s azombiecomedy.”
Last week,Rhett ReeseandPaul Wernick, who went on to write the script for the massive blockbusterDeadpool, revealed that the project is still very much in development, with the writers now serving as executive producers. Before that, the last update we had on thesequelwas back in September 2014, when it was revealed thatRuben Fleischerwould come back to direct, withDave Callaham(Godzilla,The Expendables 3) coming aboard to write the script. It isn’t known if that writer is still involved, or ifRuben Fleischeris still planning on directing.
Jesse Eisenberg’s career certainly skyrocketed after the originalZombielandhit theaters in 2009. The next year he portrayed Facebook founderMark Zuckerbergin the critically-acclaimed dramaThe Social Network, which earned him his first Oscar nomination. Next month, he will take on the iconic role ofLex Luthorin the long-awaited superhero adventureBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
It isn’t clear if the rest of theZombielandstars,Woody Harrelson,Emma StoneandAbigail Breslin, would return to reprise their roles in the sequel, but given their increasingly busy schedules, it may be difficult to bring them all together to fight zombies once again. Are you still holding out hope thatZombieland 2will still hit theaters some day? Given the recent success of everyone involved in the original movie, hopefully the sequel will eventually go into production, but we’ll have to wait and see.
