Brad Pitt and Paramount got the last laugh when their zombie epic World War Z went on to haul in $540M worldwide after a slew of production problems had people writing the film off. Stories about difficulties with director Marc Forster were at the forefront of those issues, along with a troublesome final act (which was still pretty terrible, but anyway...), so it came as no shock when Forster wasn't asked back for the sequel. But the project is moving on capably without him, and now they've landed a director in Juan Antonio Bayona.
THR reports that Bayona will take over the film after being shortlisted for the gig a few weeks back. A meeting with Pitt went well enough that he was not only hired but will oversee the writing process, which should help streamline any creative difficulties. Bayona's big break came directing the Guillermo Del Toro-produced horror The Orphange, and his tsunami disaster film The Impossible helped Naomi Watts earn an Oscar nomination. While the experience he gained depicting wide levels of devastation in that film should come in handy, he also showed a deft hand for the emotional toll they exact on people.
No writers are on board at this stage but you can bet Paramount wants to get moving on World War Z 2 pretty quickly.
