The new “Night of the Living Dead” film will be an expansion of the 1968 original and is being conceived as a potential franchise, though plot details are being kept under wraps. LaToya Morgan of “The Walking Dead” fame is writing the script. Village Roadshow is putting together the film as a package to be presented to buyers at the upcoming American Film Market. They’ll be partnering with Chris Romero and George A. Romero’s Sanibel Films, as well as Origin Story, Vertigo and Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios. CAA Media Finance and Village Roadshow Pictures to co-represent U.S. rights. FilmNation is handling international sales and will introduce the project to buyers at AFM. Village Roadshow Pictures’ international team will support FilmNation in its endeavors on the international front.
“The original version of ‘Night of the Living Dead’ is still so resonant to this day,” Jusu said in a statement. “Every era has the zombie that it needs and right now, zombies reflect the ways that humans treat each other and show us who is truly the monster.” “’Night of the Living Dead’ is one of the great cornerstones of the horror genre. I’m beyond thrilled to be playing in the sandbox that George Romero built and ecstatic to raise the stakes and push the envelope with this exciting new story,” Morgan said. “I am so excited by this visionary team of storytellers that have come together to expand on the premise of the original film. Revisiting the world that George and his collaborators created is going to be a treat for fans. George would have been so happy to see this happen!” Christine Romero, the former wife of the late filmmaker, said in a statement. Jillian Apfelbaum and Tristen Tuckfield will oversee for Village Roadshow Pictures. Christine Romero will oversee for Sanibel Films. Ryan Silbert will oversee for Origin Story. Andrew Childs will oversee for Roy Lee’s Vertigo. And Jon Mone and Ryan Shimazaki will oversee on behalf of Westbrook Studios. Jusu is the director of “Nanny,” which won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, making her just the second Black woman director to win the award. “Nanny” will be released in select theaters on November 23 and on Prime Video globally on December 16, and she’s also at work on a follow-up film for Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw. Morgan in addition to her work on “The Walking Dead” is also co-creator with J.J. Abrams of the crime drama series “Duster,” and she’s also serving as showrunner. Jusu is represented by M88 and CAA. Morgan is represented by Eclipse Law. Vertigo, Origin Story and Westbrook are represented by CAA.
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