‘World War Z’ sequel gets ‘The Orphanage’ director Juan Antonio Bayona for possible 2016 release

Paramount’s big hit World War Z moves ahead with a sequel as the studio has hired a director.

The THR reports that Juan Antonio Bayona has been hired the second chapter in the zombie franchise.

“Bayona was on the very short shortlist of directors a few weeks ago. He met with Pitt, who produced Z via his Plan B banner and is also producing the sequel, before getting the gig. No writers are attached at this stage, but Bayona will oversee the writing process,” THR reports.

The first filming starred Brad Pitt, based on the classic Max Brooks novel, was a massive hit, earning over $200 million at the US box office and $540 million worldwide.

In addition to The Orphanage, Bayona directed the 2012 drama The Impossible, based on the tsunami which devastated southeast Asia.

Pitt is a former UN investigator pulled into action to discern a solution to the widespread “zombie” overbreak which is overtaking the world.

“We have so many ideas and so much information, we think we have a lot of stuff to mine from,” Pitt recently said of the sequel. “We’re going to do our best and see what we get out of it. We gotta get the script right first to determine if we go further.”

There is no release date set for the film, but a 2016 release date seems more likely.

UPDATE: Paramount has moved ahead with Steven McKnight(Daredevil) writing the script, setting a 2017 release of June 9.