Night of the Living Dead: Outbreak

Produced by
 Written by
 Based on
 Running time
 Country
 Language
 Budget
 Box office

***Night of the Living Dead: Outbreak*** is a 2019 American low-budget horror film, written and directed by Brandon Baker and starring Daniel Kaluuya and Kiernan Shipka. The film is based on the critically acclaimed 1968 horror film *Night of the Living Dead*, and is set in modern times on an unspecified American college campus. Unlike the 1990 remake, no one involved with the original is involved with this version. The original film was never properly copyrighted, and so it has fallen into the public domain, making this remake possible with no permission from the original's creators.

The film was released to theaters on November 22, 2019 and received mixed to positive reviews with many praising the visuals but criticizing the script and some of the acting. A sequel tentatively titled *Night of the Living Dead: Containment* was announced in 2021 with a planned October 27, 2023 release.

## Synopsis

*"The film follows sophomore Barbra as she takes refuge in a campus dorm after being attacked by the undead. Eventually she has to team up with Ben and other students as they venture outside their safe hiding place to take back their school from hordes of the undead."*

## Cast

* Daniel Kaluuya as Ben
* Kiernan Shipka as Barbara
* Kaitlyn Dever as Judith
* Lucas Hedges as George
* Timothée Chalamet as Harry
* Liam James as Henry
* Helena Howard as Tonya
* Bel Powley as Lucy
* Morgan Saylor as Karen
* Lakeith Stanfield as Edward
* John David Washington as Officer Russell McClelland
* Alex Wolff as Johnny
* Russell Streiner (cameo)

## Production

Brandon Baker was inspired to write the film after watching *Night of the Living Dead* over Halloween alone in his college dorm when he thought of how a college campus would react to the events of the film. Development on a script, originally titled *The Night of the Living Dead* or *A Night with the Living Dead*, began in 2017 with Baker hoping to finish the film by the next Halloween in 2018. Raydon Studios announced the film as their first foray outside of the Cascade Comics Cinematic Universe and dated the film for Halloween 2019. Filming began in August 2018 and lasted until November with pick-up shots being filmed in March and April 2019.

## Release

The film was released to theaters by Raydon Studios Motion Pictures in the United States on November 22, 2019 and expanded overseas on January 17, 2020. It grossed $4.5 million at the box office against a production budget of only $125,000 and received mixed to positive reviews from critics.

The film was released in the US on digital download by Raydon Studios Home Entertainment on March 24, 2020, and on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on April 7. The digital and Blu-ray releases include the extended director's cut, audio commentary and deleted scenes. The DVD release only includes the deleted scenes.

## Future

The film's post-credit scene was set inside of a shopping mall as an homage to the 1978 film *Dawn of the Dead*, a sequel to the original *Night of the Living Dead.* This scene led many to believe a *Dawn* remake would be the sequel but as of December 2020, no sequel had been announced.

In March 2021, a sequel to *Outbreak* was announced by Raydon Studios for an October 27, 2023 release. The sequel will be titled *Night of the Living Dead: Containment* and will be set one year after the events of the first film. Despite the rumors, the film will not be a remake of *Dawn of the Dead* nor will it feature a shopping mall as its main setting, although producer Brandon Baker did mention there could be "a few [scenes] set in a mall [somewhere] in the movie but who knows."

A potential third film titled *Night of the Living Dead: The Cure*, has been proposed by an unspecified studio executive.