Brad Pitt is set to return to the World War Z franchise, more than a decade after the 2013 zombie thriller became one of the biggest commercial hits of his career.

Paramount is moving forward with a new sequel with Pitt attached to star, while filmmaker Edward Berger has signed on to direct. Dennis Kelly is writing the screenplay. Plot details have not yet been disclosed.

Brad Pitt will return — and produce again

Pitt is not only returning in front of the camera. He will also produce the sequel alongside Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner through Plan B Entertainment. Berger is also expected to serve as an executive producer.

The new project marks another collaboration between Pitt and Berger. The pair recently worked together on The Riders, an A24 film that has completed production and is currently in post-production.

Berger is best known internationally for directing the Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front and the acclaimed political drama Conclave. His appointment gives the long-delayed sequel a high-profile filmmaker after years of abandoned attempts to revive the franchise.

A sequel that has spent years in development

A second World War Z film has been discussed for years. One earlier version was expected to reunite Pitt with director David Fincher, but that project was eventually shelved in 2019.

Paramount indicated earlier in 2026 that another film was back in active development. The latest update is significantly more concrete: Pitt is attached to return, Berger is directing and Kelly is writing.

That still leaves several major questions unanswered. Paramount has not announced a production start date, release date or supporting cast, and the story is being kept under wraps.

Why World War Z remains valuable to Paramount

The original 2013 film was adapted from Max Brooks’ novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. Directed by Marc Forster, it followed former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane, played by Pitt, as a fast-moving zombie outbreak destabilised countries around the world.

Despite a famously difficult production, the film became a major box-office success. Paramount reported at the time that it earned more than $500 million worldwide, while later industry reporting has placed its global total above $540 million.

That commercial performance has kept sequel interest alive even as different creative versions came and went.

What is confirmed — and what is not

At this stage, the confirmed elements are Pitt’s return, Berger’s direction, Kelly’s screenplay and Plan B’s producing involvement. There is no confirmed release date and no official synopsis.

It is therefore too early to know whether the new film will directly continue Gerry Lane’s story from the first movie, introduce a substantially new cast around Pitt, or take the franchise in a different narrative direction.

For now, the significance of the announcement is that one of Hollywood’s longest-running sequel prospects has moved from broad development talk to a defined star-director-writer package.

Further casting, production and release details are expected as Paramount advances the project.