We all knew that the sequel to ‘World War Z‘ was, going to happen, and that it would happen without without Marc Forster (‘Machine Gun Preacher’,’Stay’). The big question has been who will direct Brad Pitt (‘Twelve Monkeys‘,’Se7en’) in the next installment of the film? Finally we have an answer and it’s not a name you probably would have expected. The man at the helm is Juan Antonio Bayona (‘Penny Dreadful‘,’The Orphanage’).

Who is Juan Antonio Bayona? Well he’s a relative unknown in the States, though had a breakout hit in the horror world with his 2007 film ‘The Orphanage’ which was produced by Guillermo Del Toro (‘Pacific Rim‘,’Hellboy’). He’s also one of the director’s on next year’s Showtime original series ‘Penny Dreadful’, so suspense and horror is what he’s known for. His style, though, is really more for suspense and not action so it’ll be interesting to see how that fits into the fast paced world of ‘World War Z’. What you have to question is how will he deal with a big budget summer blockbuster tent pole movie?

It’s a gamble to be sure. With the first installment being Pitt’s highest grossing film to date, there will be a lot riding on the follow up. It has to really keep the audience just as pulled in as the first one as well as top at the box office to keep sales up. Many of the readers of the original series were disappointed that they were going so far off the source material, but box office sales and positive reviews have proven us all wrong as they really were able to pull off a fun movie. Now, they just have to do it again.

With a limited cure found at the end of ‘World War Z’, it’d be interesting to see if the films still ended up as a trilogy though there is still plenty to clean up after to make the world livable again.

What do you think folks? If you’ve seen ‘The Orphanage’, do you think the suspense he’s built up there fits in the action horror that ‘World War Z’ has become? Do you think a director who hasn’t had experience on a tent pole film is the way to go? Sound off below!

Source: Hollywood Reporter