After a ten-year hiatus, Zombieland is back and possibly better than before!
On Thursday, October 10 the lead cast; Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone reunited with director Ruben Fleischer and the original writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick for the world premiere of Zombieland: Double Tap at the Regency Village Theater in Westwood, CA. Ten years after the events of the first film, the unconventional family move to the American heartland and face off against new, evolved zombies as well as some human survivors. Newcomers, Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, Luke Wilson, Thomas Middleditch, and Avan Jogia join the cast as they add to the comical mayhem that ensues.
Fans quickly took a liking to the rambunctious squad Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita, and Little Rock so what can be expected of the zombie killing crew a decade later… all the same shenanigans we loved about them in first film! Stone states, “My character has not evolved. She is who she is, and I really respect that about her.” While our beloved characters have remained the same on-screen, there have been some major changes off-screen. “The main difference was that Abigail Breslin has changed from a young child into a woman and so it was unusual, an unusual dynamic considering that the rest of us are ultimately the same,” says Eisenberg. One of the biggest questions on everyone’s mind is, will Zombieland: Double Tap be able to compete with the highly praised Zombieland?
WESTWOOD, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 10: Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin and Jesse Eisenberg attend the premiere of Sony Pictures’ “Zombieland Double Tap” at The Regency Village Theatre on October 10, 2019 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
The original Zombieland received immense success, debuting at number one at the box office in North America with ticket sales reaching over 24 million dollars in its opening week, so of course the pressure to “wow” audiences is at an all-time high. Writer Paul Wernick reveals that there is always pressure and anxiety when it comes to writing scripts “which is partly why it took so long and we’re here ten years later. We wanted the script to be perfect. This movie was so special to us, the cast, the audience and everyone wanted a sequel worthy of the first and wanted it to not only be as good as the first, but some people walk out and say, it was even better than the first.” That high standard was certainly a reason for the delay in the sequel. While Zombieland: Double Tap hasn’t been released in theaters as of now, there are already talks of a Zombieland 3. “Certainly there could be more, the question is, how many more considering this one took ten years. The hope is we do a Zombieland 3 and then who knows after that. It all comes down to the motivation of everyone to do it, but it will happen I would say,” states writer Rhett Reese. Before we get ahead of ourselves, be sure to check out Zombieland: Double Tap in theaters nationwide on October 18.