A WW2 movie about Nazi zombies, from the mind of JJ Abrams? You had us at Nazi zombies, but we were hooked at the mention of JJ Abrams.
‘Overlord’ is a project that has been close to a decade in the making, but this week it took a giant step closer to reality when JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot and Paramount recruited Son of a Gun director Julius Avery to helm the project, which has a script from The Hunger Games screenwriter, Billy Ray.
Paramount acquired Abrams’ idea for Overlord back in 2007, but after the script was polished by The Revenant‘s Mark L. Smith, the pace has picked up considerably and casting is now rumored to be underway.
It sounds odd to say that a movie about Nazi zombies is not actually covering new ground, but movies like the hilarious Dead Snow (pictured above), and Shockwaves have visited the subject matter before. But, this being JJ Abrams, there are bound to be a few surprises in store and a description of the project from Variety does suggest this won’t just be a straightforward zombie flick.
The story follows two paratroopers who are caught behind enemy lines after their plane crashes on a mission to destroy a German Radio Tower in a small town outside of Normandy during the D-Day invasion. After reaching their target, the two paratroopers come to realize that besides fighting off Nazi soldiers, they also must combat against supernatural forces that are a result of a secret Nazi experiment.
Unlike Dead Snow, the most recent Nazi zombie movie we can think of, Overlord will feature a strictly WW2 setting. The idea of secret Nazi experiments adds another element of intrigue, but it’s not like you really needed it given the talent of those involved in the project.
This is definitely a movie to put on your radar for the future.
Image Credit: Euforia Film