One of the best times I had at the theater last year was with Ruben Fleischer‘s Zombieland. It was also a huge financial success, grossing over 4 times its budget worldwide. With the sequel in development, it looks like writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are going the The Hangover 2 “bigger is better” route and planning for a more outlandish cameo. If you still have yet to see the original (or have been living in a zombie shelter the last year), I won’t ruin the original cameo for you, but read no further if you would like stay away from sequel rumors.
Bloody Disgusting reports that, according to an inside source, Columbia Pictures wants a “superstar cameo” and the search is currently underway for “someone iconic along the lines of Harrison Ford or Anthony Hopkins. Aside from the cameo, they also found the villains in the sequel won’t just be bloodthirsty zombies. There is a role for a “lead villain with comedic roots” while Woody Harrelson‘s Tallahassee character will “find himself going head-to-head with a hunky rival.” Matthew McConaughey immediately comes to my mind. Make it happen!
There is no word yet if Abigal Breslin or Emma Stone will return, but Jesse Eisenberg is planning to reprise his role. A few months ago Fleischer spoke to MTV regarding more details on the sequel, which has a completed script:
“When it comes to 3D, I feel pretty strongly that you should shoot it in camera. I feel like it just looks so much better. If you’re going to make a 3D movie, go ahead and make a 3D movie. I would definitely, if we do ‘Zombieland 2,’ make it in 3D and want to shoot it in 3D.”
“One of the fun things about ‘Zombieland’ is it jumps all over the place in terms of the storyline,” Fleischer said. “It’ll go to before zombies to after zombies and all around those worlds. What’s fun about the sequel is we have freedom and flexibility to show different periods. We might have scenes before the zombies, or we might have some months after, or potentially stuff further down the road. Through the voice-over and the way the movie is structured, we can really explore all different sides of it.”
As for what to expect next from director Ruben Fleischer, he has the buddy comedy 30 Minutes or Less hitting theaters this summer, with Eisenberg, Danny McBride, and Aziz Ansari. He hasn’t confirmed his next project, but has circled this sequel, as well as rumored for Babe In The Woods and Tales From the Gangster Squad.
What do you want to see from a 3D Zombieland sequel?