George Romero’s Living Dead zombies are coming back to haunt audiences.
Before his death six years ago at the age of 77 due to lung cancer, the legendary filmmaker began writing what’s billed as his final entry in his popular zombie series, titled Twilight Of The Dead. The sequel is set to start filming this year in Puerto Rico, according to Deadline.
Romero had begun writing a treatment for the movie before his death in 2017, and talks of bringing the film to life began in 2021, per the outlet.
Now with the backing of producer-financier Roundtable Entertainment and a script completed by Joe Knetter, Robert Lucas, and Paolo Zelati, who worked on the treatment with Romero, the film — described as “the seventh and final installment of the seminal Living Dead film franchise” — is moving full speed ahead, per the outlet.
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The synopsis of the film promises to “delve into the dark nature of humanity from the perspective of the last humans on earth who are caught between factions of the undead” and will be set on a tropical island, Deadline reported.
“I’m delighted to be joining forces with Roundtable to bring the eerie evolution of Romero’s universe to the screen,” Romero’s widow Suzanne Romero, who is also producing the film, said in a statement, per EW and Deadline.
“Roundtable impressed me with their long-term and deep love of George’s work. I believe they have the vision to produce the best version of this movie that honors the Romero legacy. I can’t wait to start filming!”
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Along with Romero, several others will be taking on a producing role including Zelati, John Baldecchi (Children of the Corn, The Mexican), Sarah Donnelly and Ardvella Entertainment’s Stephanie Caleb. The film’s executive producers include Dominic Ianno (A Quiet Passion, Soul Surfer), Alex Dundas, Jason Resnick, Chris Roe and Luis Riefkohl.
Baldecchi said they were “thrilled” to bring the “final installment of this epic series” to movie theaters.
“It is the perfect ending to one of the greatest horror legacies of all time, with a powerful and timely message about how humanity is the cause of its own destruction, over and over and over again,” he continued. “There is a lot of excitement in the creative community to be involved and we’ll be making decisions on that shortly.”
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Romero struck it big with his iconic black and white 1968 cult classic, Night of the Living Dead, which spawned five more sequels: Dawn of the Dead (1978), Day of the Dead (1985), Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009).
He also wrote the story for the 1973 film The Crazies and directed the 1981 film Knightriders. Romero also directed Stephen King’s 1982 horror anthology Creepshow, which marked the best-selling author’s screenwriting debut.
