Seven years after the World War Z movie adaptation let down fans of the book, The Walking Dead‘s newest spinoff has a chance to adapt it right. Just as the films of George Romero are favorites of most zombie movie lovers, and The Walking Dead is itself usually the most beloved among the few zombie-based TV shows, book fans also have their favorite works of zombie fiction. Published in 2006, author Max Brooks’ World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is a common choice for that category.
World War Z serves as one of the most complete examinations of a zombie apocalypse in the history of fiction, and is also sometimes darkly funny, in addition to being often scary and grotesque. Most of all though, it’s always compelling, and presents a view of a zombie-induced societal collapse that few undead stories take the time to craft. A critical and commercial smash, World War Z is, in the opinion of many, a masterpiece.
To put it mildly, the 2013 movie adaptation starring Brad Pitt isn’t nearly as impressive. Sure, the film made a lot of money from casual audiences, but for any dedicated zombie fan – most of which had indeed read World War Z – director Marc Forster’s effort is a decidedly underwhelming entry into the zombie canon. A big part of that is just how little the film tries to actually adapt Brooks’ book.
New Walking Dead Show Is What World War Z Should’ve Been
Last week, AMC surprised just about everyone by announcing that the flagship Walking Dead TV series was set to end after season 11. The network has no plans to slow down with the franchise though, announcing a new spinoff focused on Carol and Daryl, and another episodic anthology spinoff called Tales of the Walking Dead, set to tell short stories about both new and existing characters having standalone adventures. While this opens the door to getting reacquainted with old, long-dead favorites, it also presents the opportunity to do justice to World War Z‘s central concept.
As implied by the subtitle An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks’ book is comprised of individual stories concerning disparate characters in different parts of the world. Those stories put together allow the reader to truly understand how the zombie apocalypse is effecting people of wildly different cultures and backgrounds, and in what climates or locations things tend to get worse. Outside of the possible reunions with people like Glenn and Abraham, Tales of the Walking Dead could serve as the perfect vehicle to open up the scope of The Walking Dead TV franchise, focusing on new characters in locations never before seen in a style akin to World War Z. If they pull it off, it’ll make the Pitt film look like even more of a regretful enterprise.
