On Monday, Paramount did a little housecleaning. The studio removed two major movies, Friday the 13th and World War Z 2, from its schedule, and both are currently in limbo. The World War Z sequel didn’t even have a director, so it looked like the project was being abandoned for good, or at least put on the way back burner while the studio focused on something else. But director David Fincher, who has expressed a lot of interest in the project, is reportedly still down. It’s up to the studio now.

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Fincher is still “very creatively interested in directing the movie,” he just needs the go-ahead from Paramount to get started. He and Brad Pitt, who would also be involved in the sequel, have worked together before on films like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and, of course, Fight Club, and they’re still close. Pitt has even expressly said that he wants Fincher for the project.

Plus, Fincher isn’t asking for a whole lot of money. Apparently he’d like to make it for less than the original’s $190 million, and tell a smaller-scale story. Paramount has no problem with that, so why cancel it? Zombie fever is far past the heyday it saw in the late 2000s, but that doesn’t mean fanboys’ ears wouldn’t perk up at even the mention of his name.

“He really would like to do it,” THR’s source said. “It’s up to Paramount.” He’d just better call it World War Zequel.

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