New York Will Eat You Alive: Colin Firth to star in Zombie Brother film

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

More than three and a half years have gone by since we first heard that Channing Tatum would be producing a film adaptation of the Chinese comic book ZOMBIE BROTHER (a.k.a. SHI XIONG), and now it looks like that adaptation is getting close to going into production. Set to be directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, the film is titled NEW YORK WILL EAT YOU ALIVE, and it has now landed an unexpected lead, as Colin Firth has signed on to star.

NEW YORK WILL EAT YOU ALIVE is coming to us from STXfilms and Tencent Pictures, and STXfilms' Adam Fogelson had this to say about the casting of Firth: 

We always wanted to cast this in a way that would give life to the source material and elevate the action and you can't achieve that goal any better than hiring Colin Firth. From THE KING'S SPEECH to KINGSMAN, Colin always gives an Oscar-caliber performance. We're thrilled to be reuniting with him on NEW YORK WILL EAT YOU ALIVE in a role that will allow him to have fun while showcasing his deadpan humor and comic timing."

The ZOMBIE BROTHER comic centers on 

XiaoFei, an ordinary guy from H City. After the spring water is contaminated with a virus, the people living in H City become zombies one by one, devouring each other and gradually evolving. Can XiaoFei escape from H City and meet up with his girlfriend Wei? 

Last year, we heard that the film will follow 

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

Alex Rubens wrote the screenplay, which has received revisions from Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. Tatum, Reid Carolin, Peter Kiernan, and Michael Parets are producing for Free Association, with Conor Zorn and Wenxin She producing and overseeing for Tencent, and Ged Doherty producing through his production company Above The Line Productions. Strauss-Schulson and Edward Cheng are executive producing, while Drew Simon is overseeing the production for STXfilms, along with Patricia Braga and Katie Zhao.

STXfilms will be distributing NEW YORK WILL EAT YOU ALIVE in the United States. Tencent Pictures will be distributing in China.

I haven't read ZOMBIE BROTHER, but I'm interested in seeing how this movie is going to turn out. The source material has previously served as the basis of a stage play, a mobile game, and an animated series in China.