Over the years, the zombie genre has gone through several mainstream approaches that have ended up repelling some fans of the universe of the undead who crave human flesh. The Walking Dead shot off in all directions and revived the flames of the genre. Films like Train to Busan and Army of the Dead recently showed there’s still love for the living dead. Nevertheless, to bring back all the fans who don’t like these conventional takes, all we need is a fresh twist on the world of zombies. Something like what Shaun of the Dead did back in 2004. The problem is that, according to the co-writer and lead, Simon Pegg, we should not expect a sequel anytime soon.
It’s been over 20 years since the release of Shaun of the Dead, the zombie romantic comedy that can only be described as a disruptive force within the genre. Since then, Pegg and director Edgar Wright have seen their careers grow exponentially in the direction of other genres. Naturally, a return to the zombie-verse doesn’t seem to be part of their plans.
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Pegg sat with Variety to talk about his career, including his latest participation in the Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. He admitted he recently joined Wright for “trying to settle on a basic premise for something,” but he quickly discarded the possibility of a Shaun of the Dead follow-up:
“It’s lovely to be asked, and the following that film has is the best you can hope for as a filmmaker, but Shaun is a story with a beginning, middle and end, and it’s a story that to add it — like Alien 3 did to Aliens — it might end up detracting from the original.
“So certainly when Edgar and I make our next film, we’re gonna really disappoint everybody.”
The actor also revealed that his priorities have changed. He’s simply not the same man and admits not being “invested in any of the superhero stuff,” or the new era of Star Wars under Disney’s domain. Pegg said: “I spent the first part of my career kind of indulging a lot of the things I loved as a child, but ever since I became a parent, they’re just not my priority. It just doesn’t interest me anymore.”
‘Shaun of the Dead’ Was Like a Breath of Fresh Air for the Zombie Genre
2002 saw the release of major zombie movies like 28 Days Later and Resident Evil. Though different in concept, both of them ultimately aimed to deliver scares. In 2004, Zack Snyder contributed to the remake craze with his effective retelling of Dawn of the Dead, but he only tweaked a few rules. The zombie genre remained mostly untouched.
Just months later, American audiences found themselves hysterically laughing as a zombie plague swept through London, and Shaun and Ed did their best to survive. Shaun of the Dead wasn’t supposed to be funny in the traditional sense, but the offbeat humor of Pegg and Wright’s script was fresh. It was the change the genre needed.
Shaun of the Dead was acclaimed and had a solid box office performance. Audiences connected with the slapstick comedy that preceded the zombie kills, and found in Shaun and Ed two compelling characters they could imagine joining during a zombie apocalypse. Critics were also enamored with the movie, and today it sits at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Pegg recalled how Hollywood legends always showed their support for the film:
“I remember turning up for the Shaun of the Dead premiere at the ArcLight on Sunset and Edgar was sat there with Quentin Tarantino. There were lots of cool people there, and we got such a lot of support from Quentin and George Romero and John Carpenter and Stephen King and Peter Jackson … all these guys sort of stepped up for us — I think because they saw a lot of themselves in Edgar.”
Source: Variety
