In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Deadline has announced that George A. Romero's Twilight Of The Dead, the "seventh and final installment" in the director's long-running and iconic Living Dead franchise, will begin shooting later this year in Puerto Rico. Based on a treatment written by Romero prior to his untimely passing in 2017, the film is being produced by Roundtable Entertainment and the George A. Romero estate.
Says Deadline:
"Set on a tropical island, we’re told Twilight Of The Dead will 'delve into the dark nature of humanity from the perspective of the last humans on earth who are caught between factions of the undead.' True to the Romero oeuvre, it is being framed by the producers as 'thought-provoking sociopolitical commentary wrapped in a genre piece.'"
Twilight Of The Dead's script, which was apparently completed prior to the ongoing WGA strike, comes to us from Joe Knetter, Robert Lucas, and Paolo Zelati (who is also to have worked on the film's treatment with Romero). As of this writing, the project does not have a director, but Deadline goes on to say that the production team "is in negotiations with a director, and was in talks with cast before the SAG-AFTRA strike hit."
Says Suzanne Romero:
“I’m delighted to be joining forces with Roundtable to bring the eerie evolution of Romero’s universe to the screen. Roundtable impressed me with their long-term and deep love of George’s work. I believe they have the vision to produce the best version of this movie that honors the Romero legacy. I can’t wait to start filming!”
Adds Roundtable’s Head of Scripted, John Baldecchi:
“We’re thrilled to be working alongside Suzanne, Paolo, and Stephanie to bring the final instalment of this epic series. It is the perfect ending to one of the greatest horror legacies of all time, with a powerful and timely message about how humanity is the cause of its own destruction, over and over and over again. There is a lot of excitement in the creative community to be involved and we’ll be making decisions on that shortly”.
Nothing further to report on Twilight Of The Dead at the time, but we are obviously very curious to see how things shake out with this one, and will be keeping our ear to the ground for further updates. Stay tuned for those as they roll in, folks.
