If you want to see more of the hilarious zombie apocalypse we saw in Zombieland, you have a bit of a Sophie’s Choice ahead of you. D0 you want to see a spin-off television series or do you want to see a sequel film? You’ll have to choose one because according to producer Gavin Polone you won’t be able to have both.
Speaking to NY Mag, Polone revealed that the original film’s writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (who are also hard at work writing the new Micronauts movie for Paramount) are talks with Sony Television and the FOX Network about the possibility of turning the film into a 30-minute show for the 2012-2013 television season. Unfortunately, Polone also stated that “If the TV show goes, then the sequel won’t happen.”
Ironically, Zombieland had first been developed as a television series for CBS before it became a movie. Polone explained, “The original plan for this was to make it as a TV show, but they did what networks do, which is to take all the good stuff out.”
Given that the second season of AMC’s The Walking Dead premiered this past Sunday with record breaking numbers, I wouldn’t be surprised if other networks are looking at cashing in by doing television shows that run in similar veins. A Zombieland series would have a leg up as it already has name-brand recognition and Reese and Wernick have reportedly been developing stories for Zombieland for years and the film only scratched the surface of what they want to tell. Of course, it’s doubtful that film stars Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg would want to participate in a television version, but shows like MASH and Clueless have demonstrated that a television spinoff of a film can recast its leads and still be successful.
