It's the epic zombie sequel that will likely never see the light of day, so what would David Fincher's World War Z 2 have been about? World War Z is based on the novel by author Max Brooks, which details the effects of a borderline apocalyptic war between the living and the dead. The story is broken up into accounts from various politicians, soldiers, and survivors of the conflict and Brooks' meticulous research makes it all feel somewhat plausible. The book was acclaimed upon release and it didn't take long for the movie rights to be picked up.
While the episodic nature of the book felt better suited to a TV series, the resulting World War Z movie mostly ignored the source material. Instead, the story followed Brad Pitt's character on a mad dash across the globe to trace a cure for a sudden zombie outbreak. The blockbuster famously weathered many production issues, with the original third act - which featured a Russian battle sequence - scrapped and reshot. Despite a watered-down PG-13 rating and predictions of doom, World War Z became a surprise hit.
A trilogy was envisioned for the property and J.A. Bayona was tapped to direct World War Z 2. Bayona later dropped out to helm Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom instead and to the surprise of many, David Fincher entered negotiations. Fincher and Pitt have worked together on acclaimed projects like Seven, but the director tends to avoid big studio projects following a poisonous experience making his movie debut Alien 3. Nevertheless, Fincher signed on officially in 2017 and the project spent over a year in development while the script was being written. By late 2018 all signs pointed to World War Z 2 starting production, only for Paramount to cancel it in February 2019, with the budget and China banning movies featuring zombies being cited as the two biggest factors.
This came as a blow to fans dying to see what David Fincher could have done with a zombie blockbuster. One thing that was never exactly clear with World War Z 2 is what the plot involved. The previous movie ended with Pitt's Gerry Lane discovering those infected with deadly diseases are ignored by the undead, so the world develops a vaccine to act as camouflage. Lane notes the war is just beginning and according to an article by Splash Report, World War Z 2 would have followed shortly after this ending.
World War Z 2 would have revealed the vaccine only works for 36 hours and the zombie hordes continue to grow. Even amid an undead apocalypse political tensions between nations continue to fester, while Gerry and his family are still living among survivors in Canada. There's hope for the world when a virologist named Dr. Morel develops an airborne virus that will - in theory - make zombies fight each other. Morel mysteriously vanishes before sending a final, key piece of information on E29, so Lane is recruited to track her down. He first heads to Geneva before his travels take him to Singapore and Bangladesh too. That journey only becomes more intense now the undead are immune to the camouflage, meaning if Dr. Morel isn't found, they could eventually overwhelm the planet.
Neither Fincher nor anyone involved with World War Z 2 confirmed if this outline is accurate, so it should be taken with a grain of salt. That said, it follows logically from the end of the original and could have formed the basis for an entertaining sequel. With Paramount focused on Mission: Impossible 7 & 8 for their blockbusters needs, it's doubtful the sequel will happen. The franchise lives on in the fun World War Z multiplayer shooting game, but its future on the big screen is currently in limbo.