New Director Boards World War Z Sequel

Brad Pitt may be up for another round of zombie action, but it looks as if director Marc Foster won’t be returning for the sequel to “World War Z”.  Instead, a new director is taking the helm and it’s someone who has had previous success in the horror genre.

THR is reporting that Paramount has picked up Juan Antonio Bayona to direct “World War Z 2″.  Bayona’s previous features include the 2012 film “The Impossible” and 2007′s “The Orphanage”.  Clearly Bayona is a man with an eye for personal dramas and big spectacles, so he seems like a natural fit for the direction “World War Z” has taken.

There’s no word on when the sequel will be released or what it’s official title will be, but with a director officially attached, those sort of details should start being sorted out soon enough. The biggest question is what direction will this sequel take?

Given the production problems that the first film faced, I have to wonder if there will be a desire to try and reduce the cost/spectacle of the next film.  ”World War Z” was certainly a financial success, but that was mostly thanks to the foreign box office.  It did well here in the states, but it’s inflated budget kept it from having strong returns.

While Bayona can do large scale, he seems to excel at doing small and tightly crafted films.  It’s hard to imagine him doing a big budget zombie film when his sensibilities seem so contrary to that.  It’ll be interesting to see how Bayona decides to take the direction of the sequel.