Well, this feels like deja vu. World War Z was one of the most troubled productions in recent memory (other than Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four reboot of course), and now things are going wrong for the sequel as it’s been confirmed today that Juan Antonio Bayona has dropped out.
The director of The Orphanage and The Impossible signed up to helm the World War Z sequel last year, and with a script by Steven Knight and Dennis Kelly, things were looking pretty good for the follow-up. Brad Pitt is also expected to reprise his role from the first instalment.
So, why has he dropped out? Apparently it’s down to him needing more time to finish his next movie, A Monster Calls. The studio clearly aren’t going to wait for him either – World War Z 2 currently has a release date of June 9th, 2017 – as they’ve released a statement today revealing that, “Bayona is no longer able to make World War Z 2 this year, and it is our ambition to do so. He is a wonderful director and we hope to work with him soon.”
There’s been talk of Bayona directing the Jurassic World sequel, so this likely frees him up for that now, and that could have something to do with why he’s passed on World War Z 2.
The first film may have been a mess, but it was also a box office hit, and it’s far too early to write this one off as also being in development hell. Hopefully we’ll hear something about a new director soon as you have to believe that the studio are determined to make it happen.
