A Zombie Trilogy in World War Z?

Is Brad Pitt the new Tom Cruise? You know, once upon a time, Cruise was one of the hottest and most popular actors in Hollywood. I can still hear that “Tommy can you hear me?” sound bite that Rosie O’Donnell used to play on her talk show. Of course, she was a little better thought of in those days, too. Then Mr. Cruise went bouncing up and down on Oprah’s couch and, well, the rest is history.

Mr. Brad Pitt, too, I feel like was better loved in days past. He was once the man every lady wanted. Even after the Aniston break up and growing the family with Angie, I felt like the actor was pretty popular. Then he said some negative things about Aniston in a recent interview. That was just before Moneyball came out. The movie is getting incredible attention, but that’s from football fans and critics, but not necessarily from women. It’s just bad business to trash talk the ex.

Still, Tom Cruise’s film, Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol is number one at the box office right now. Could an action movie put Brad Pitt back on top also? And if World War Z is just what the doctor ordered, then might it be a bigger franchise than we know? Could it be a trilogy?

Well, the LA Times caught up to The Brad in Budapest last October on the set of World War Z. The film is expected out before Christmas 2012. In it Pitt plays a globe trotter trying to unlock the secret origin of a “zombie pandemic” that is spreading chaos like wildfire. He is directed by Marc Forster of Finding Neverland and Quantum of Solace. The movie is already being compared to Contagion.

This could be Pitt’s biggest movie ever. Forster and Paramount Pictures both say they liken the sci-fi thriller to The Bourne series meets AMC’s The Walking Dead. That’s big talk! And remember, Pitt has never won an Oscar, but he has come close. First it was for one of my fav sci fi classics, Twelve Monkeys. He followed that with a nomination for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But as far as action goes, I think he carried Troy pretty well. So, here’s to hoping World War Z will do well enough to become a full-fledged trilogy and pack some punch at the box office.