To say that George A. Romero is a "Master of Horror" would be an understatement. With films like THE CRAZIES, MARTIN, and CREEPSHOW, he had proven his skill and understanding of the genre, but with his "Of The Dead" series, Romero created history as the inventor of the modern zombie.
When Romero passed, he left his last story, THE LIVING DEAD (PRE-ORDER HERE) unfinished. Enter New York Times bestselling author Daniel Kraus, who was asked by Romero's widow Suzanne Desrocher-Romero to finish his novel. Tonight we bring you a sneak peek of THE LIVING DEAD novel along with an appreciation of the longstanding and epic career of George A. Romero in this virtual Comic-Con@ Home panel.
Here are some highlights of the panel that you can watch in its entirety below, and don't forget to leave a comment!
- Co-author Daniel Kraus helped finish Romero's story by using segments from what George had already completed, a ten-page rough outline of the main plot beats, and a missing short story he had written from the POV of a zombie.
- To help with finish the novel, Daniel Kraus studied Romero's work and got an official sequence timeline for the zombie outbreak: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD – DIARY OF THE DEAD – SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD – DAWN OF THE DEAD – LAND OF THE DEAD – DAY OF THE DEAD.
- The novel's second act takes place during the "Of The Dead" film series.
- The novel keeps up with the sharp and brutal commentary of society. It focuses on the 'haves and have nots, and the need to work together during a pandemic.
- It explores zombie animals for the first time.
- There are many easter eggs and nods to his (Romero's) other non-zombie work in the novel.
- This keeps with Romero's progressive casting and has a Black woman as the lead character.
- The third section of the book takes place fifteen years after the zombie outbreak and is about building a utopia and where humans go next.
- The novel closes the loop of the stories Romero started in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.
- Romero's favorite film of his is MARTIN. It was the film he felt like he had complete sovereignty over, 100% creative control.
- Romero's Wife, Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, thinks SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD is his most underrated film.
- Romeo was attached to other projects, like GUN PERSON, which would have been his first Western film.
- Romero wrote many stories and treatments that were never made, and these are archived at the Hillman Library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Be sure to pre-order THE LIVING DEAD (HERE), which comes out AUGUST 4TH, and experience the last work of the legendary writer and director, George A. Romero.