Romero’s Son to Write and Direct ‘Night of The Living Dead’ Prequel
Of course, the Romero name is most readily associated with the zombie, a horror icon that he more or less invented out of whole cloth. Night of The Living Dead introduced us to zombies as shambling corpses, rather than the voodoo creations of previous films, and sparked a global obsession that continues to this day.
It’s heartening to know that the Romero legacy will live on, as his son Cameron has just announced that he will be writing and directing a prequel to Night of The Living Dead, and will settle the question of Romero zombie provenance once and for all.
The prequel, titled Rise of The Living Dead, will be set in the 60’s, and will explore what led to the creation of the first ever Romero zombie. Apparently, the script received the seal of approval from Romero himself, who pronounced it “genius” before passing away.
Cameron is less clear on when the film will enter production, so don’t expect to see a finished movie any time soon.
We’re frankly hesitant about the idea behind this project. Romero’s zombies were always somehow empowered by the mystery that surrounded them. Without government nano-viruses or radioactive meteors to explain them, Romero’s zombies came across like some kind of biblical plague – a judgement on modern civilisation that defied rational explanation. A prequel has the potential to fill in some of the gaps, but seems more likely to rob the franchise of its power.
We’ll keep our fingers crossed that Cameron’s script does justice to his father’s legacy.