Night of the Living Dead sequel coming from Nanny director Nikyatu Jusu

Since the distributor failed to put a copyright notice on the film, George A. Romero‘s 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead was released directly into the public domain. Because of that, anyone can release it, remake it, sequelize it, profit off of it in any way they want. And many have. So it’s not surprising to hear the announcement that a Night of the Living Dead sequel is in the works. What’s pleasantly surprising is that this one has the official backing of Romero’s ex-wife Christine Romero!

Deadline reports that the Christine Romero-approved sequel is set to be directed by Nikyatu Jusu, who recently made her feature directorial debut with Nanny, which became the first horror film to win the U.S. Grand Jury Prize for drama at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Jusu will be working from a screenplay written by LaToya Morgan, whose credits include episodes of Shameless, Parenthood, Into the Badlands, and The Walking Dead. Details on the plot are being kept under wraps.

This Night of the Living Dead sequel is coming to us from Christine Romero, the late George A. Romero’s Sanibel Films, Origin Story, Vertigo, and Westbrook Studios. Romero is the creative overseer on the project, producing alongside Village Roadshow’s Jillian Apfelbaum and Tristen Tuckfeld, Origin Story’s Ryan Silbert, Vertigo’s Andrew Childs, and Westbrook Studios’ Jon Mone and Ryan Shimazaki.

Jusu had this to say about the project: “The original version of Night of the Living Dead is still so resonant to this day. Every era has the zombie that it needs and right now, zombies reflect the ways that humans treat each other and show us who is truly the monster.“

Morgan added that the original film is “one of the great cornerstones of the horror genre. I’m beyond thrilled to be playing in the sandbox that George Romero built and ecstatic to raise the stakes and push the envelope with this exciting new story.“

And Christine Romero said, “I am so excited by this visionary team of storytellers that have come together to expand on the premise of the original film. Revisiting the world that George and his collaborators created is going to be a treat for fans. George would have been so happy to see this happen!“

While we wait to see what Jusu does with the Night of the Living Dead sequel, Nanny is set to receive a theatrical release on November 23rd, then will reach Amazon Prime Video on December 16th.

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