Before he passed away in 2017, horror master George A. Romero had been developing one final zombie movie titled Twilight of the Dead. The film is coming to life with Brad Anderson (Session 9, The Machinist, Blood), and Deadline reports that the zombie film has found its leads in Resident Evil star Milla Jovovich and Upgrade‘s Betty Gabriel.
The George A. Romero estate is teaming up with LA-based financier-producer Roundtable on Twilight of the Dead, being positioned as the “final installment” in Romero’s ‘Dead’ franchise. The original treatment for the planned project was penned by Romero himself, but Joe Knetter, Robert Lucas, and Paolo Zelati tackled the actual screenplay.
Romero followed seminal zombie film Night of the Living Dead with Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead. The upcoming Twilight of the Dead takes the zombie terror to a fresh location: a tropical island.
Twilight of the Dead is said 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.”
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 Day of The Dead and was a frequent collaborator with the filmmaker. He is also known for working on “The Walking Dead” and “Creepshow” tv series.
Director Brad Anderson said of the project, “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, wife of the late Romero 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!”
Anderson recently worked with Jovovich on upcoming genre pic World Breaker.
Producers include Suzanne Romero, John Baldecchi, Sarah Donnelly, Paolo Zelati and Ardvella Entertainment’s Stephanie Caleb, with executive producers set as Dominic Ianno, Alex Dundas, Jason Resnick, Chris Roe, and Luis Riefkohl.