It looks like theNight of the Living Deadreboot is running rather than shambling along, as the script for the second redo of George A. Romero’s seminal zombie horror movie is almost complete. The new movie, which will be a reboot sequel – which would make itDawn of the Dead? – was originally set in 2022 when MGM acquired the rights and enlisted directorNikyatu Jusuand writerLaToya Morgan, who has previously had plenty of undead experience after working as a producer and writer forThe Walking Dead.
Why You Should Be Excited for George A. Romero’s Twilight of the Dead
Even though it’s still in development, the late George Romero’s Twilight of the Dead will be an exciting conclusion to his famous flesh-eating saga.
Although there has been little said about the new movie since the initial announcement, in a new interview withScreenRant, Morgan provided an update whilepromoting her new series,Duster,which she co-created. From her comments, it appears that things are actually much further along than many would have suspected. She said:
Yes, I’m done writing the script and it is with the studio, and we have a wonderful director who’s attached, and we are very close to getting it there, so I can’t say fully, but we’re getting close. We’re getting close, and my work is done. It was a blast work on that. I’m a big fan of George (Romero)’s Night of Living Dead.
Taking on a Romero Classic Was Not a Certainty for Morgan
While there are many screenwriters who would jump at the chance to dive into one of the most influential and iconic universes, Morgan revealed in the interview that she originally turned down the offer to work on the new movie, but a request from the late genre master’s family led her to change her mind. She added:
“It was huge. I actually said no several times because I revere it so much. It’s like one of the cornerstones of horror. And so I’m a big horror fan. There’s certain titles you don’t touch, but his family, they asked me to rewatch the movie and to see if I could come up with anything. And the idea sparked, so I was like, ‘Oh no, I got to do this now.’ So I pitched it to them and they really loved it, and then we took it to the studio and thankfully there were a bunch of different places that were interested. And so now we are at Amazon MGM, and hopefully there’ll be a movie soon.”
While this new movie clearly has the seal of approval from Romero’s family, it is not the only “Living Dead” title currently in the works. The zombie godfather’s widow, Suzanne Romero, has also been attempting to bring her own franchise addition to the world withTwilight of the Dead.That movie reportedly found a director in Brad Andersonback in 2023, but just like Jusu and Morgan’s movie, updates have been hard to come by since. It is inevitable that, one way or the other, the world created by Romero will return to screens sooner or later.
