Night of the Living Deadstill has some life left in it. The 1968 film is set to receive a sequel with director Nikyatu Jusu in the director’s chair and LaToya Morgan doing the writing.
Night of the Living Deadis one of the classic films in thehorrorgenre. As a horror movie featuring the living dead, it helpedset the mythos of zombiesfor decades to come. Director George Romero has even been called the “Father of the Zombie Film.” The film features an outbreak of resurrected corpses coming back to eat the living. Interestingly, despite being credited as the first modern zombie movie, the film itself never actually uses the term.
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According to a report byDeadline, Village Roadshow Pictures partnered with Chris Romero (ex-wife of the late director) and George A. Romero’s Sanibel Films, Origin Story, Vertigo and Westbrook Studios in order to create asequel to the zombie movie. In doing so, the studio tapped Jusu to direct, who said, “The original version ofNight of the Living Deadis still so resonant to this day. Every era has the zombie that it needs and right now, zombies reflect the ways that humans treat each other and show us who is truly the monster.” Meanwhile, writer Morgan added that the original is “one of the great cornerstones of the horror genre. I’m beyond thrilled to be playing in the sandbox that George Romero built and ecstatic to raise the stakes and push the envelope with this exciting new story.”
Christine Romero will be serving as a creative overseer alongside Village Roadshow’s Jillian Apfelbaum and Tristen Tuckfield, Origin Story’s Ryan Silbert, Roy Lee’s Vertigo’s Andrew Childs, and Westbrook Studios' Jon Mone and Ryan Shimazaki. “I am so excited by this visionary team of storytellers that have come together to expand on the premise of the original film," Christine Romero said in a statement. “Revisiting the world that George and his collaborators created is going to be a treat for fans. George would have been so happy to see this happen!”
The zombie craze is stronger now than it was whenNight of the Living Deadwas originally conceived. Tales of the undead have been part of the collective subconscious for all of human history, but modern zombie films owe much of their concepts toNight of the Living Dead.Tons of popular culture is centered around zombies, from zombie games to books andshows likeThe Walking Dead.
Director Jusu is clearly excited to updateNight of the Living Deadfor a modern world. The series' first film has several conventions that are now considered outdated or overdone, a consequence of being the first in the genre. Jusu is also clearly ready to include some modern themes about the monstrous aspects of modern society. What that entails is yet to be seen.
