I am so ready to revisit the Land of the Dead. George Romero’s fourth zombie film showed him to be a director who keeps on serving up interesting curveballs in his own series – each of the previous three movies had been completely unique, and Land was just as different from the rest.
Last month I spoke with longtime Romero collaborator John Harrison (read that interview here), who hinted that the Dead films may live on via direct to DVD releases – while Land didn’t burn up the box office (it was totally released the wrong month. Universal should have swapped Serenity and Land), Harrison said that he thought the video market was a new and untapped resource.
Now George Romero is confirming that there will be more Dead films – a direct sequel to Land, most likely – thanks to DVD sales and strong overseas box office. If the new film happens, it’ll be the quickest ever turnaround time on a Dead film. “Frankly, I was ok with that, because I’d much rather wait for something to happen,” Romero tells Empire Online. “If they nuke Washington, then I’ve got something. It won’t be in April but it might now be August or something. I hope to God we don’t have to do the winter again, but there’s a real buzz happening now about a sequel.”
Romero also says that he doesn’t know if Dead 5 will be next or if The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon will be what he gets moving on. “It’s all about who writes the first cheque,” he told the British site, which I am sure added that sissy que. “I like ‘em, I wrote screenplays for both of ‘em and I’m very comfortable with where they sit right now. But it’s all about which one gets going first.”