Road of the Dead: Everything We Know About The Unmade Zombie Movie – Screen Rant

George Romero Presents Road of the Dead never quite made it to production, but Matt Birman has spoken of its future here's everything we know.

Road of the Dead, which was originally intended to an ode and spiritual successor to George A. Romeros Of the Dead series, was first announced in 2015, but still hasn't started production. Written and to-be-directed by Romeros friend and collaborator Matt Birman, Road of the Dead has been idling in development for the lastfiveyears without much explanation.

Road of the Deads inexplicable stall is strange for a project that initially spurred a great deal of excitement within the horror genre, and with fans of Romero's work specifically. However, according to writer and director Matt Birman, the project is still something hes very passionate about and does intend to make, albeit under the name Wolfe Island now that Romero has passed.

Related: The Living Dead: How George Romero's Last Zombie Story Continues His Legacy

Thanks to Birman, theres a lot of information out there about Road of the Deadincluding itsbasic plot, the premise, and some of the characters fans can expect to see in the new movie if it ever comes to fruition and gets a release date.

Three years after Romeros passing, Birman sat down with Bloody Disgustingin 2020 to discuss his script for Road of the Dead and what inspired the story. He explained that Road of the Dead is a movie he conceived and wrote based on the idea set up by Land of the Dead that the zombies are slowly evolving and remembering how to do things they learned in life, such as using tools and firing guns. Birman said that this spurred the thought in him, Why dont [the zombies] just get in the car and follow them wherever theyre going?

Set in the darkest and most hopeless days of the zombie apocalypse, Road of the Dead takes place on a Canadian island where the citizens are protected from the undead in exchange for being subjected to harsh laws and high taxes under the ruler Brigadier General Leon Copperhead Styles.

Dr Harriet Jane and her mentor, Hal Cain, are the central characters of the story, a team working on creating an antigen to dampen the zombies need to consume human brains as a way to help humans and zombies successfully cohabitate. Janes test subjects are supplied to her by General Styles who uses the remaining zombies he captures to stage drag racing events as entertainment for the social elite in a modern-day Coliseum of sorts.

Related: Night Of The Living Dead: Why George Romero Rewrote Ben's Character

Of course, as this is a horror movie, things go terribly wrong and a number of zombies are unleashed on the islands inhabitants. This forces Hal Cain and his Special Ops trained daughter, Julia, to attempt an escape. But one final raceone that will determine the fate of the worlddraws them back.

Birman also revealed that this movie is intended as a chronological sequel to Land of the Dead, skipping past Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead. However, fans shouldnt get their hopes up about seeing familiar faces from Land of the Dead return. Birman said all of those characters will have died, killed off by zombies, save one who appears later in the script. Birman was tight-lipped about which character would make a cameo appearance.

Expanding on the zombie drag racing aspect of the movie, Birman explains that the zombies arent actually driving as much as they are just being corralled into the cars and then remembering how to press the gas pedal and not much else, though there are some zombies who are a little more evolved. Birman revealed that one of the best drivers is sort of a mashup of Bub and Big Daddy, a transgender woman he describes as, Big Daddy taken to the next level.

In addition to the major plot points, Birman was candid about the fact that the movie would feature a ton of easter eggs and references to Romeros Of the Dead series. Since Road of the Dead has been a passion project for Matt Birman for some time, so hopefully fans will see all this work pay off in the very near future.

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Certified horror addict and linguistics nerd, Maisy has been watching, reading, and reviewing horror since she was old enough to get a library card. She is most often found hiding in the woods with her nose in a book, usually horror or weird fiction, or in her bedroom snuggling with her husband and many pets while watching horror movies or playing Skyrim - usually both.Elusive and rarely out in public, Maisy can usually be baited with cheese, punk rock, or the promise of a rousing discussion on sociolinguistics and dialectology, though she has sometimes been known to come out to explore local parks, zoos, and distilleries on occasion.

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Road of the Dead: Everything We Know About The Unmade Zombie Movie - Screen Rant