10 Movie Sequels Stuck In Production Hell

28 Months Later isn't the only mooted zombie sequel which proves that while there's plenty more room in development hell the dead won't walk the Earth.

World War Z emerged from a hugely troubled production, an abandonment of virtually the entirety of the cult favourite novel it was supposedly based on, and extensive reshoots to become the highest grossing zombie movie ever. Despite its production difficulties, then, that high box office and the presence of bankable star/producer Brad Pitt meant that a sequel was always on the cards.

Studio Paramount parted company with director Marc Forster after his troubles bringing in the first film on time and budget, but they still seemed keen on a sequel, hiring The Orphanage's Juan Antonio Bayona to direct and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight to pen the screenplay. A June 2017 release date was finally announced before Bayona dropped out to make A Monster Calls.

Paramount somehow managed to hook David Fincher, still smarting from his previous big franchise sequel work on Alien 3, as the replacement director and still promised the movie by 2018. That, of course, didn't happen as Fincher was busy making Netflix's Manhunter, but he was still lined up to shoot his zombie sequel last year.

After months of pre-production and location scouting across five countries, however, the latest attempt at World War Z 2 was shut down in February, with the Chinese government's ban on films involving the undead cited as the major barrier to production.

Even despite the underwhelming first part, though, there's easily enough creative and original material in Max Brooks's novel that fans would still love to see if a sequel could ever get off the ground.