The Final Girls director replaces Kung Fury director on Zombie Brother

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

About five months ago, it was announced that KUNG FURY director David Sandberg would be directing a feature adaptation of the Chinese comic book ZOMBIE BROTHER (a.k.a. SHI XIONG), which has already served as the basis for a stage play, a mobile game, and an animated series in China. This adaptation is still moving forward, but there has been a shake-up behind the scenes: Sandberg has departed the project and a new director has already been hired.

The director who is now taking on ZOMBIE BROTHER is Todd Strauss-Schulson, whose previous credits include A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS, ISN'T IT ROMANTIC, and – this is the most important one to us here at Arrow in the Head – the slasher comedy THE FINAL GIRLS (pictured above).

We had also heard that the screenplay was being written by Matt Lieberman, but the script Strauss-Schulson will be working from has been written by Alex Rubens and Ryan Engle. The story follows 

a Chinese character who leads a ragtag team of New Yorkers in a fight to stay alive during a zombie apocalypse.

ZOMBIE BROTHER is a collaboration between STXfilms and Tencent Pictures. Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin, and Peter Kiernan are producing the film through their company Free Association.

I've never read an issue of the ZOMBIE BROTHER comic book or seen an episode of the animated series, but plenty of others are being drawn to this material. STX has noted that "the comic has garnered more than 24 billion views over 241 installments, and its animated series has attracted more than 3.7 billion views across its first two seasons."

STXfilms chairman Adam Fogelson says Strauss-Schulson was chosen to direct the film adaptation because 

His films thrive with a heart, energy, comic pace and visual inventiveness all their own."

The plot description doesn't sound like anything special, but the ZOMBIE BROTHER comic book and cartoon are said to be hilarious, so this probably isn't just going to be "The Walking Dead in New York".