Zombieland: Double Tap Director Explains Why It Took 10 Years to Make the Sequel

Zombieland: Double Tap director Ruben Fleischer spoke with EW for a new interview explaining the lengthy delay between the first and second films. The original Zombieland was released in 2009, and Fleischer said that the reason came down to each of the cast going in different direction, plus coming up with a good script. Highlights are below:

On why it took ten years to get the sequel made: “The easy answer is, I think we all wanted to stretch our legs a little bit and try different things. I think we were all excited to do other stuff. But, the other thing is, we just couldn’t figure out the right story to tell. It took a minute to get a story that we all felt was worthy, to come back to Zombieland for. We all have so much love for the original. So, we held ourselves to a really high standard as far as making sure that, if we were going to make a sequel, that it be at least as good, if not better, than the original. And that ultimately all comes down to the script. So, we were all demanding and discerning to make sure the story was one that was worth getting the gang back together. Sometimes it does take time to get that right.”

On if there are chances for a third film: “We have to see how this one’s received and if that’s something audiences would want. But I think we all had so much fun making this one, we’d be really lucky to get to return to Zombieland. Although, I will say, Emma said, she thought it would be fun if we did one of these every 10 years. Knowing that Woody’s just the healthiest guy there is, he’s going to outlive all of us, and so we can just keep doing them every 10 years, ‘til the end of time.”

On the idea of making a new Zombieland every ten years: “Yeah. I can’t imagine a better way to look forward to my future than knowing that every 10 years I get to hang out with those guys and make a movie with them again.”