Director Juan Antonio Bayona Exits Brad Pitt's WORLD WAR Z Sequel
Paramount & Plan B's upcoming sequel to the $540 million Brad Pitt-starring hit that was World War Z has lost its director. A new report has revealed that director Juan Antonio Bayona has decided to bow out due to scheduling conflicts. Come check it out!
In a shocking turn of events, Deadline is reporting that due to scheduling conflicts, director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Impossible) has exited Paramount Pictures' & Plan B Entertainment's upcoming World War Z sequel, which stars Academy Award-winner Brad Pitt and has a script from Steven Knight (Pawn Sacrifice) & Dennis Kelly (Black Sea).
Paramount is eagerly trying to kick off production on World War Z 2 this summer in order to get it ready for its wide release in Summer 2017. Bayona is currently deep into post-production on his latest directorial venture A Monster Calls, which stars Liam Neeson (Taken) & Felicity Jones (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), and felt that he couldn't finish his commitments on that film before this summer when he would have had to shift gears to World War Z 2.
The studio released this statement to confirm his departure: “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.”
Expect the studio to actively start searching for a replacement and considering all of the seemingly insurmountable production difficulties the first installment had, this one seems relatively small in comparison.
What do you guys think? Who would you want to see direct the sequel? Sound off with your thoughts below!
World War Z hits theaters June 9, 2017