As directed by Marc Forster, 2013's World War Z was an absolute bore to look at, and the narrative itself wasn't much to speak about either. As with so many Brad Pitt vehicles - he also produced the living-dead epic - the film felt a little too much like a campaign ad for Pitt to be ushered in as the greatest living world-healer; his cameo in 12 Years a Slave had a similar feel to it. The fact that he capped the whole thing off by chugging an ice-cold Pepsi, one of the most risible instances of product placement this decade, stripped the incessantly self-serious film of any single ounce of credibility.

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Image via Sony Pictures

Though there's no telling how the script will go with World War Z 2, the long-gestating sequel to the quite lucrative blockbuster, Pitt seems to be making moves to secure that the movie will look spectacular, Indeed, as Variety reports, Pitt has been in conversations with David Fincher, easily one of the best American directors currently working, to helm the sequel, which would be Fincher's official follow-up to 2014's superb Gone Girl. According to sources, Pitt and Fincher had a conversation a few weeks ago and though it wasn't an immediate go for either side, negotiations are ongoing apparently.


This would be a tremendous coup for the property, which was firmly in the "Who cares?" column up until this. J.A. Bayona was set to direct the sequel for some time but ditched the project to work on the sequel to Jurassic World, and there was no fixed name attached to the project until this came up. Fincher has yet to make anything less than a very good movie, with only his mangled yet still powerful Alien 3 being the only one that isn't a straight-up masterpiece. Even considering my intense trepidation at this franchise continuing on, considering how bland the first one was, Fincher being at the helm of the project would quickly turn it into must-see cinema. If there was ever a time to lean on Pitt's abilities to bring people together, now would be that time.

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Image via Paramount
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Image via Paramount

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Image via Paramount