2009’s surprise zombie comedy hit “Zombieland” settled into a joyful niche in the aughts comedy scene. It escaped the overexposure its ’09 genre peer “The Hangover” suffered from while being just about as funny and paved the way for talents like Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to break out in the screenwriting world.
READ MORE: The Best Films Of 2019… So Far
Memories of the infamous Bill Murray extended cameo and endless quotable lines still linger to this day, and if you had to poll folks on which films from the last 10 years were deserving for sequels, “Zombieland” would probably come up.
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019
A decade later, original film director Ruben Fleischer (recently of “Venom“) and stars Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin are all back for another round of zombie slaying in “Zombieland 2: Double Tap.” Zoey Deutch, Luke Wilson, Rosario Dawson, Thomas Middleditch and Avan Jogia are all joining the ensemble in various roles without a lot of explanation, as the details for this sequel are being kept pretty hidden.
READ MORE: The 25 Best Film Festival Movies Coming Out In 2019 We’ve Already Seen
A “Zombieland” sequel actually seems trickier to pull off when you ponder what’s to be done; how do you replicate one of better genre comedies of the last decade or so and find ways to pull the audience back into the zeitgeist-y glimmer the original film found? It won’t be easy, but with the original creative team back in place and a host of promising new players in the zombie madness, they’ve got a puncher’s chance to make this a story worth reanimating.
READ MORE: Summer Movie Preview: 35 Films You Shouldn’t Miss
The trailer sure does have some zingers and belly laughs intact, and Fleischer has never looked more at home than he does in directing these movies. His body horror-as-comedy scenes in “Venom” are the closest we’ve seen to him living up to his “Zombieland” potential, so perhaps another trip back to this series will reignite his talents in a more sustainable way.
Plus, it’s fun to imagine what eye-popping, indulgent cameo or cameos the film could be plotting. We’d love to see a zombified version of Murray, but if they can concoct something crazier than that scene in the original, they’ve certainly got our attention. The sky’s the limit!
We’ll see what’s in store for the new “Zombieland” movie when it opens on Oct. 11.
