World War Z is one troubled franchise. The first film was infamous for its production woes, as well as its completely re-shot ending. The end result wasn’t a bad film — in fact, it turned out as a fairly solid zombie flick — but there was a distinct, disjointed feel to it that was hard to put one’s finger on. Yet despite its issues, the film went on to do solid business at the box office.

However, it seems like any issues with the first film have now carried on to World War Z 2 — at leat, up until this point. Some time ago, Paramount quietly removed the sequel from its June 2017 release. Despite the plans to continue on this story, little headway was actually made on the project, and for the longest time, it seemed to be dead in the water.

Last February, however, there were rumblings about a certain David Fincher being interested in directing the flick. So what was the holdup? In the ultimate ironic twist, it was that Fincher wanted to make the film for LESS money than the previous film, and the studio seemed set on throwing more dollars into it. After all, bigger is better, isn’t it?

RELATED: David Fincher Still Interested In World War Z 2

Well, it sounds like all disagreements have been thrown out the window — at least for the time being — as Variety is reporting that David Fincher is close to finalizing his deal to direct film. According to the outlet, the gamechanger here came in the form of new Paramount chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos. The film hasn’t officially been greenlit just yet, but Gianopulos expected to do so in a week or so. If all goes according to plan, the film could begin filming as soon as January 2018. Interestingly enough, Gianopulos also greenlit Fincher’s last project, Gone Girl, when he was chairman over at 20th Century Fox, so he and Fincher obviously have a history together.

From a creative standpoint, this is great news. While it’s unclear if Fincher’s original idea of a more personal story is what they’re going forward with, there is no mistaking the man’s talent behind a camera. Additionally, Fincher has worked together with Pitt in the past with films like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Se7en, and Fight Club. As such, we can expect a pretty great performance out of Pitt (not that he’s ever really given a bad one).

As someone who enjoyed World War Z, but saw no reason for them to continue the franchise, I’ve suddenly found myself much more interested in this project. Fincher doesn’t take on his films lightly, and his signing on seems like an assurance that he’ll have something meaningful to say with this one.

I, for one, can’t wait to see what it is. What about you? Are you looking forward to seeing what Fincher has to bring to World War Z 2? Let us know in the comments down below!

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SOURCE: Variety