After more than a decade of false starts, World War Z is officially heading back into development with Brad Pitt set to reprise his role in a long-awaited sequel for Paramount Pictures.
Pitt will return as Gerry Lane, the former United Nations investigator at the centre of the 2013 zombie thriller, while Oscar-winning filmmaker Edward Berger has signed on to direct. Berger, known for All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave, will work from a screenplay by Dennis Kelly, whose credits include Matilda the Musical and Together.
Plot details are currently being kept firmly under wraps, so it remains unclear how the sequel will continue Gerry Lane’s story or how the new film will expand the world established in the original.
The project will also reunite Pitt and Berger after their recent collaboration on The Riders, an upcoming A24 film that they filmed earlier this year and which is currently in post-production. Berger will also serve as an executive producer on the World War Z sequel.
Pitt is set to produce through Plan B Entertainment alongside Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, adding another layer to his involvement with the franchise.
Released in 2013 and directed by Marc Forster, World War Z was based on Max Brooks’ bestselling novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. The film followed Lane as he travelled across the globe in an attempt to understand and stop a rapidly spreading zombie pandemic.
The original became a major worldwide success, earning more than $540 million at the global box office.
A sequel has been discussed for years, with several filmmakers previously attached to the project. David Fincher was once lined up to direct with Pitt returning, but that version was ultimately abandoned in 2019. Paramount confirmed at CinemaCon in April 2026 that another World War Z movie was actively in development.
The latest announcement represents the most significant movement on the sequel in years, bringing together Pitt and Berger for another collaboration while giving the franchise a new creative direction.
For now, Paramount has not announced a release date, production start date or additional casting for the sequel.
