The scariest zombies in cinema have made their way to streaming, as World War Z is available to stream on Paramount+. Starring Brad Pitt as Gerry Lee, a former UN employee, World War Z follows Lee around the world as he desperately fights to survive the hordes of sprinting zombies, and searches for a cure. Directed by Marc Forster, World War Z also stars Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox, Fana Mokoena, and Matthew Fox.
World War Z received decent reviews upon its theatrical release in 2013. The action/horror blockbuster boasts a 67% critics score, with a slightly stronger 72% audience rating. As well as being the rare movie where Pitt is put under the spotlight, without any other A-list actors around him, World War Z is renowned for having the most terrifying zombies in all cinema. The zombies in World War Z aren’t smart like those found in Land of the Dead, nor do they rip people to shreds like in the Return of the Living Dead franchise. Instead, they’re the fastest zombies around. Don’t even bother running from these undead nightmares, as they sprint like Usain Bolt at their prey, clambering over each other to infect humans with their virus.
World War Z is an incredibly loose adaptation of the novel by Max Brooks, published in 2006. Unlike the movie, which is an all-out action flick, the World War Z novel reads like a journalistic report, as an interviewer travels the globe speaking to people who have encountered strange phenomena in the build up to the outbreak. As entertaining as World War Z is, fans of Brooks’ novel are still hoping for a District 9-style, authentic adaptation in the future.
Will We Get a World War Z 2?
As well as boasting good reviews, World War Z was a box office success, grossing $540 million from a budget of $190 million. It also currently stands as the highest grossing zombie movie of all-time. While the post-apocalyptic zombie genre had its heyday during the 00s and early 2010s, the recent successes of The Last of Us and Fallout have renewed interest in the genre. It may now be might be the right time for a sequel.
Thanks to its box office success, rumors have been circulating about World War Z 2 since the release of the original. Brad Pitt has previously said he’s game to be chased by charging zombies again in the future. At one point, Fight Club director David Fincher was tapped to helm the sequel. However, there are conflicting reports as to why the sequel was canceled.
The prevailing report suggests that the budget proposed by Fincher was far beyond what Paramount were willing to spend, and, as a result, the movie was shelved in favor of Paramount funding more Mission: Impossible movies. Other theories suggest that the film was shelved due to China’s ban on paranormal movies. This is the same reason why movies like Zombieland and Get Out were never released in China. The country is the biggest box office market outside the U.S.
World War Z
is now streaming on Paramount+.
