George A. Romero, who turned 75 in February, says he expects his involvement in his proposed new zombie TV series will extend far beyond writing the pilot.
If the small-screen “Empire of the Dead” project goes to series, “Night of the Living Dead” writer-director George A. Romero says he’ll write “probably at least most of the first season” and hopes to “direct a couple.”
Speaking at last weekend’s St. Louis Wizard World, Romero was following up on last week’s Cannes announcement that he would script the pilot based on “Empire of the Dead,” his New York City-based Marvel comic book series set years after a zombie apocalypse. The 15-issue comic depicts survivors dealing with an emerging vampire threat as well as zombies.
Demarest Films, an entity behind “A Most Wanted Man” (one of Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s last movies) and Kevin Smith’s thriller “Tusk,” is behind the proposed series, but no channel has yet signed on, and funding is still being sought for the pilot.
Coincidentally, Demarest is also working with AMC, home of Romero-inspired zombie-fest “The Walking Dead.” AMC will air Demarest’s six-episode Hugh Laurie miniseries based on John le Carré’s novel “The Night Manager.”
Romero’s original 1968 “Night of the Living Dead” spawned at least five movie sequels, three movie remakes and five “Return of the Living Dead” movie spin-offs.
Following the enormous success of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” two more zombie-apocalypse dramas were greenlighted: Syfy’s “Z Nation” launched last September; and AMC’s West Coast spinoff “Fear The Walking Dead” premieres in August.
Find all of Blastr’s story on Romero’s remarks here.
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