EXCLUSIVE: Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil) and Betty Gabriel (Get Out) have been set to star in Twilight of the Dead, the next feature from The Call and The Machinist director Brad Anderson.
The George A. Romero estate is teaming up with L.A.-based financier-producer Roundtable on the “seventh and final installment” of the seminal Living Dead franchise. Horror icon Romero had written a treatment for the movie before he died in 2017 and he regarded Twilight of the Dead as the conclusion to his epic saga, which comprised six movies and various spinoffs and remakes.
Fortitude International will present the project at next week’s American Film Market, with production being lined up for March.
Set on a tropical island, we’re told Twilight of the Dead will “delve into the dark nature of humanity from the perspective of the last humans on Earth who are caught between factions of the undead.”
The project returns Jovovich to battle the undead after her long-running starring role in hit zombie franchise Resident Evil.
Respected veteran makeup effects designer Greg Nicotero and his KNB EFX Group will create and lead the makeup effects. Nicotero began his career with Romero’s 1985 sequel Day of the Dead and was a frequent collaborator with the filmmaker. He also is known for working on the Walking Dead series.
Director Anderson explained: “I see this film in the same way as successful post-apocalyptic thrillers such as I Am Legend, A Quiet Place, The Road and The Last of Us — genre stories that are as emotional as they are intense. When I first read Twilight of The Dead, I teared up at the end. Which is weird for a film of this type. But it has that kind of pull, that combo of horror and heartbreak that I love.”
“It is with great pleasure to work with my partners at Roundtable to finally get the last of George A. Romero’s The Dead canon out to the fans,” said Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, Romero’s widow and founder of the George A. Romero Foundation. “It’s what the fans have longed for, and with Brad Anderson at the helm it will be sensational.”
Roundtable Entertainment’s Sarah Donnelly added: “We’re thrilled to share Milla Jovovich’s return to the zombie genre in this fresh and original way with Twilight of the Dead. With Brad’s masterful, visionary direction and Milla’s unique ability to command the screen as a bona fide action star with emotional depth and resiliency, there’s no doubt this film will be a riveting, compelling standout in the genre.”
The team behind the project previously told us they haven’t closed the door on the possibility of additional movies in a new franchise, should this one go well.
Twilight of the Dead is produced by John Baldecchi and Donnelly for Roundtable Entertainment with executive producers Dominic Ianno, Alex Dundas, Jason Resnick, Stephanie Caleb and Fortitude’s Nadine De Barros.
The film will be produced alongside Desrocher-Romero, Bob Yari, Paolo Zelati, and co-financier Caliwood Pictures’ R. Wesley Sierk and Jina Panebianco. The treatment was penned by George A. Romero and Zelati, with the screenplay written by Joe Knetter, Zelati and Robert Lucas. Stephanie Holbrook is handling the casting.
Jovovich is repped by Untitled Entertainment, CAA and Hansen Jacobson. Gabriel is repped by Untitled Entertainment and Gersh. Anderson is repped by Paradigm.
English (US) ·