What strange times we live in. The head honcho of Laika Entertainment is directing a Transformers prequel. David Gordon Green is doing the latest Halloween reboot. Now David Fincher has as the director of World War Z 2 by Paramount chief Jim Gianopulos. It’s all pretty wild and unexpected stuff, although not blindsidingly so.
After all, the World War Z franchise is currently anchored around star Brad Pitt, a three-time collaborator of Fincher’s. The duo previously made iconic films such as Seven and Fight Club together, as well as the far less loved The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Both actors have mostly managed to avoid the usual Hollywood franchise game throughout the decades, with Fincher only previous such gig being Alien 3 and Pitt’s being the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy. In both cases, those films were filmmaker-driven. Steven Soderbergh called the shots on the increasingly offbeat Ocean’s films. Alien 3 is fully infused with Fincher’s style, despite constant studio interference.
Unfortunately for both men, franchises are the norm now. Actors Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender score on-going franchise roles in sagas such as The Hunger Games and X-Men so that they can afford to still regularly make smaller films like Frank, American Hustle, Slow West, and Joy in-between blockbuster excursions. Directors are no different, with even a blockbuster titan like Michael Bay continuing to crank out Transformers explosion-fests, so that he can continue to also make projects he’s more passionate about like Pain & Gain and 13 Hours. It’s not easy to carve out a successful career just out of small to mid-budget fare these days without having a film franchise or a TV series to fall back on.
So why is David Fincher directing is World War z sequel? There’s probably a number of reasons. For one, he gets to work with a star who trusts him and will allow him ample room to spread his wings creatively on the project. Two, the money. After all, just because you love your job doesn’t mean that you don’t care about earning a living while doing it. Finally, I’d be really surprised if Fincher hasn’t also secured some sort of deal with Paramount beyond just this film. After all, they still regularly produce smaller, adult-oriented fare, which is Fincher’s preferred corner of the cinematic realm. Basically, this could prove to be the “one for them” picture ahead of an already promised “one for him” follow-up gig.
What will a Fincher World War Z sequel look and feel like? I have absolutely no idea. That’s part of the fun of it! Also, I bet concept creator Max Brooks is thrilled by this turn of events. I know I would be, were I in his shoes.
