Before he passed away in 2017, horror master George A. Romero had been developing one final zombie movie – TWILIGHT OF THE DEAD, and Deadline reports that the film now has “backing from Roundtable Entertainment and a planned late 2023 start date in Puerto Rico.”
“The George A. Romero estate is teaming up with LA-based financier-producer Roundtable,” Deadline reports, with TWILIGHT being positioned as the “final installment” in Romero’s ‘Dead’ franchise (NIGHT, DAWN, DAY, LAND, DIARY). The original treatment for the planned project was penned by Romero himself, but Joe Knetter, Robert Lucas, and Paolo Zelati wrote the screenplay.
The film is set on a tropical island and is said to “delve into the dark nature of humanity from the perspective of the last humans on earth who are caught between factions of the undead.”
Deadline also notes, “The production team on TWILIGHT OF THE DEAD, which includes the late filmmaker’s last wife and estate manager Suzanne Romero, is in negotiations with a director, and was in talks with cast before the SAG-AFTRA strike hit. They are applying for an interim agreement.”
Suzanne Romero said in a statement, “I’m delighted to be joining forces with Roundtable to bring the eerie evolution of Romero’s universe to the screen. Roundtable impressed me with their long-term and deep love of George’s work. I believe they have the vision to produce the best version of this movie that honors the Romero legacy. I can’t wait to start filming!”
Roundtable’s Head of Scripted John Baldecchi adds, “We’re thrilled to be working alongside Suzanne, Paolo, and Stephanie to bring the final instalment of this epic series. It is the perfect ending to one of the greatest horror legacies of all time, with a powerful and timely message about how humanity is the cause of its own destruction, over and over and over again. There is a lot of excitement in the creative community to be involved and we’ll be making decisions on that shortly”.
