Night of the Living Dead 2, a sequel to George Romero’s zombie classic, is in the works but it may also be a Day of the Dead sequel in disguise. It’s worth pointing out that this current project is far from the only follow-up to Night of the Living Dead. There were Romero’s sequels set later in the same universe, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, and Land of the Dead. There was also the comedic Return of the Living Dead franchise, created by a producer of Night, which acts as if Night itself was based on true events.
Both of those properties are generally considered “official” sequels to Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, but there have also been several Night follow-ups that had absolutely no real connection to the original creators, or at best a very tenuous one. That’s because of the infamous copyright snafu that allowed Night of the Living Dead to slip into public domain, an event Romero was always understandably bitter about, as it cost him millions of dollars he rightfully deserved and enabled any low-rent operation to use the Night of the Living Dead branding on their own movie.
While it’s certainly not guaranteed to be a bad film, Night of the Living Dead 2 seems like it’ll be one of those cash-ins, as it appears to have no official connection to Romero’s universe. Yet, it was recently revealed that the three surviving characters from Romero’s Day of the Dead, played by their original actors, will appear in Night of the Living Dead 2. Does that make it a Day sequel? The answer is complicated.
While little has been revealed about the plot of Night of the Living Dead 2, it’s been confirmed it focuses on zombie apocalypse survivors battling the undead on a small island they traveled to seeking refuge. Clearly, the above image shows that also on that island are characters played by Day of the Dead actors Jarlath Conroy, Lori Cardille, and Terry Alexander, who played radio operator Bill, scientist Sarah, and helicopter pilot John, respectively. While the three could theoretically be playing their Day of the Dead characters, as the trio escaped to an island at the end of that film, it’s unlikely to become any kind of official canon.
While Night of the Living Dead is public domain, Day of the Dead isn’t, although it still isn’t owned by Romero’s estate, thanks to some odd deal-making. In fact, a Day of the Dead TV show is in the works by the rights holders. It’s highly unlikely the makers of Night of the Living Dead 2 have acquired the rights to use Day‘s characters, meaning that at the very most, it’ll be subtly implied Conroy, Cardille, and Alexander are playing the same people. Plus, in Romero’s book The Living Dead, completed by Daniel Kraus and released posthumously in 2020, it’s confirmed Bill, Sarah, and John eventually died, and roam their island as zombies.
