Zombieland 3 Closer Than You Think: Release Window Revealed
Grab your Twinkies: Zombieland 3 looks very much alive, with a release window on the horizon for the next chapter of the 2009 horror-comedy hit that raked in about $102.4 million.
Fans of chaotic cardio, good news: the people behind Zombieland are once again eyeing the 10-year reunion thing. Director Ruben Fleischer says conversations are happening about a third movie timed for 2029. Not a done deal yet, but the plan from day one has been "every decade," and they actually stuck the landing once already.
Quick refresher on where we are with this franchise: the original Zombieland hit in 2009, with Fleischer directing and Jesse Eisenberg (Columbus), Woody Harrelson (Tallahassee), Emma Stone (Wichita), and Abigail Breslin (Little Rock) mowing down the undead. Sony had a tidy win on its hands, pulling in about $102.4 million worldwide off an estimated $23.6 million budget.
There was a weird detour in 2013: Amazon released a pilot called Zombieland: The Series. It came and went fast, and Amazon passed on a full season.
Then the gang reunited in 2019 for Zombieland: Double Tap. Fleischer returned, all four stars came back, and the sequel outgrossed the first with roughly $125.2 million worldwide. It also cost more, with estimates putting the budget somewhere between $42 million and $48 million.
Back on the Double Tap press tour, the cast and crew floated the idea of a new Zombieland every ten years. Now, with 2029 creeping up, Fleischer told Deadline he still wants to keep that promise:
"I’m hoping that we’ll do a Zombieland 3 in 2029. We’re starting to talk about that because [the first] one was 2009, and then we did the second one in 2019, and we kind of left that one all saying, 'We’ll see you in 10 years.' That’s coming up now, and so we’re starting to figure that out, so I’m hoping that’ll come together."
He also hedged a bit, saying he has "a few things that are raring to go" and he will see "which one comes first." Translation: he might slot another project before a third Zombieland, even if 2029 is the North Star.
- 2009: Zombieland (dir. Ruben Fleischer) opens; Eisenberg, Harrelson, Stone, Breslin star; about $102.4M worldwide on a $23.6M budget.
- 2013: Amazon drops a Zombieland pilot; no series pickup.
- 2019: Zombieland: Double Tap brings back the original quartet with Fleischer; around $125.2M worldwide on a $42M-$48M budget.
- 2029: Fleischer says talks are underway and he is hoping to deliver Zombieland 3 on the 10-year rhythm.
No casting announcements or formal greenlight yet, but if they keep the decade pattern alive, start penciling in 2029 for more Twinkies and headshots. Frankly, I love that the sequel plan is both a running joke and an actual scheduling strategy.