Night of the Living Dead: Everything We Know About New Sequel To George Romero’s Cult Movie

Night of the Living Dead is getting a sequel. The new film will continue the legacy of the cult film directed by George Romero and will be now directed by Nikyatu Jusu, director of the acclaimed Nanny. Produced by Romero’s Sanibel Films, the new title will be distributed worldwide by MGM. As reported by Gizmodo, writing this sequel to Night of the Living Dead will be LaToya Morgan, whose numerous credits also include the more than fitting The Walking Dead. Plot details are not known for the moment, but Deadline notes that the project is “destined to rekindle Night of the Living Dead as a franchise“, the agency, which got the scoop on the news, also calls it a “sequel” rather than a reboot or prequel or retelling or whatever.

Based on Nanny’s strength and George Romero’s incredible legacy, this all sounds promising, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that Night of the Living Dead already has a perfect sequel, namely Zombies, directed by the same author of the 1978 classic. At the end of the 1960s, Night of the Living Dead revolutionized the horror genre and contributed to the birth of the New American Horror, a “trend” later followed, among others, by Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper.

The Land Of The Living Dead: The Film Plot

The story of the film takes place in a dystopian context, where humanity has been subjugated by a massive invasion of zombies. The undead now walks the planet unchallenged, effectively ruling it. The few survivors had to reorganize themselves into fortified cities scattered across the United States. Among these is Pittsburgh, which is constantly trying to thwart the zombies’ attempts to invade it. Inside the high walls, however, the city experiences further problems. The rich and powerful indeed have the privilege of being able to live in a luxurious skyscraper, while the rest of the population resides in the squalid areas of the place. Ruling over all this is Paul Kaufman, who has become a cruel tyrant.

To make this class difference even more solid there is the presence of an imposing tank, renamed Dead Reckoning. Through this, humans can move through the lands invaded by zombies, trying to recover food and medicines for the richest. Driving this vehicle is Riley Denbo, who during the umpteenth exit notices a particularly disturbing detail. One of the zombies, nicknamed Big Daddy, appears to have become able to understand and emulate the behaviors of humans. Following yet another massacre of the living dead, he decides to lead his people toward the decisive battle against humans. The challenge for survival will then really begin.

The Land Of The Living Dead: The Cast Of The Film

Romero’s film makes use of several famous interpreters of the international film scene. The first of these is the famous Dennis Hopper, remembered in particular for the film Easy Rider, here he plays the character of Paul Kaufman, the governor of Pittsburgh. For this role, the actor said he was inspired by US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, known for having been a promoter of particularly aggressive and brutal interrogation techniques. Actor Simon Baker, known for the series The Mentalist, is instead Riley Dembo. He said he accepted the part mainly to be able to work with Romero, as well as to act for the first time in a horror film.  John Leguizamo is instead Cholo DeMora, deputy commander of the Dead Reckoning. The actor Eugene Clark, famous for numerous genre films and TV series, is instead the interpreter of the zombie Big Daddy.

The Italian actress Asia Argento is instead the female protagonist in the role of the prostitute Slack, who will form an alliance with Dembo in their attempt to save themselves. Tom Savini, the make-up artist responsible for the special effects of the previous films in the saga, instead makes a brief appearance as the zombie biker Blades. Actor Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright, authors of the film Shaun of the Dead, were instead invited by Romero to play the part of the two zombies used to make “souvenir photos” in a cameo. In this way, the director wanted to publicly demonstrate his appreciation for the work of the two English filmmakers, strongly inspired by Romero’s films. Greg Nicotero himself, later a producer on The Walking Dead series, is featured as a zombie.