Zombieland: Double Tap
Zombieland: Double Tap is a 2019 American post-apocalyptic zombie comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer and written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and David Callaham. The sequel to Zombieland, it stars an ensemble cast including Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone, Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, Avan Jogia, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Middleditch. In the sequel, Tallahassee, Columbus, and Wichita face evolved zombies and encounter other survivors as they travel from the White House to Graceland to search for Little Rock.
A sequel to the original film began development in November 2009, with the returns of Reese, Wernick, Fleischer and the main cast planned. It soon faced several delays, and the writers instead wrote a Zombieland television pilot in 2013 featuring a new cast, which ultimately failed in being ordered for a series release. Development for the sequel film was revived in February 2016, the screenplay was completed in March 2017, and the film was confirmed in July 2018. The rest of the cast was rounded out under a year later, and principal photography began in January 2019 and concluded that March, with filming primarily taking place in Atlanta.
Zombieland: Double Tap premiered in Los Angeles on October 10, 2019, was theatrically released in the United States on October 18, by Sony Pictures Releasing. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, who found it to be a worthwhile successor to the original and praised the cast performances. The film grossed $125 million worldwide, surpassing its predecessor.
Plot
Ten years after the zombie outbreak, Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita and Little Rock encounter new strains of zombies: "Homers", "Hawkings", and "Ninjas".Living in the White House, Tallahassee rebuffs Little Rock's hopes of searching for a boyfriend, while Columbus awkwardly proposes to Wichita. The day after they celebrate Christmas, Tallahassee finds a note from the girls, revealing they took off in a weaponized version of The Beast. A month later, while exploring a mall, Columbus and Tallahassee meet dumb blonde Madison, who survived the apocalypse hiding in a Pinkberry store. The guys take her back to the White House, where she and Columbus have sex. Tallahassee hears a noise in the garage, and he and Columbus investigate to find Wichita has returned for more weapons and ammo. She reveals Little Rock stole The Beast and left for Graceland with Berkeley, a mysterious pacifist.
Fearing for Little Rock's safety, the group heads to Graceland. Attempting to switch cars, they fight off a horde of zombies, leading to Madison being scratched on the foot by a Ninja and being saved by Columbus. The last zombie in the bunch is labelled "T-800": a strain which can only be killed by completely destroying the head. Retreating in their original car, Madison appears to be turning into a zombie; this forces them to pull over, and Columbus decides to lead her into the forest to kill her.
The trio arrives at a ruined Graceland, with no sign of Little Rock, Berkeley, or The Beast. They discover The Beast at a nearby Elvis-themed motel and meet Nevada, who reveals Little Rock and Berkeley took another vehicle to Babylon, a hippie commune. Nevada and Tallahassee spend the night together. The next morning, The Beast is crushed by a monster truck owned by Albuquerque and Flagstaff, who share history with Nevada. They then encounter several T-800s, leading to Albuquerque and Flagstaff getting bit and ultimately killed by Tallahassee and Columbus.
While traveling to Babylon, they encounter Madison driving an ice cream truck heading in the same direction. She explains her nut allergy caused symptoms similar to zombification and that Columbus spared her life by shooting above her head to scare her off. Arriving in Babylon, the group gives up their weapons and finds Little Rock and Berkeley. Tallahassee decides to go out on his own, now that he knows Little Rock is safe. As he departs, however, he sees a horde of T-800s drawn to the commune's fireworks and devises a plan to kill them: using exploding biodiesel, he tells the commune, armed with barricade shields, to corral the zombies off of a nearby skyscraper, with himself as the bait.
With the exploding biodiesel ineffective, the commune is overwhelmed until Nevada arrives in Albuquerque's truck, rescuing them. They take out several zombies, causing the vehicle to roll over. Escaping to the skyscraper, they corral the zombies off the roof. Tallahassee uses a construction crane hook to dangle out of reach, but a zombie seizes his leg as it falls. Using a gun previously gifted to her by Tallahassee, Little Rock shoots the zombie and rescues him. The group then reconciles: Wichita accepts Columbus' proposal, while Madison and Berkeley get together, as do Nevada and Tallahassee. The original quartet, including Nevada, then departs Babylon.
During the film's mid-credits scene, the narration cuts back to 2009. At the start of the outbreak, Bill Murray witnesses Al Roker turn into a zombie during a promotional interview for a third Garfield film. He kills several zombies, including Grace Randolph and Lili Estefan, and escapes. In the post-credits scene, an outtake of Murray making Estefan break character by trying to cough up a hairball is shown.
The rules
Continuing the rules from Zombieland, Columbus's list of 73 rules includes:Flagstaff's commandments or rules for staying alive:
Tallahassee considers adding a rule of his own: "It takes a real man to drive a pink Cadillac"
Madison's rule for surviving Zombieland: "Mostly stay in the freezer."
Cast
- Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee, Columbus' trusted partner
- Jesse Eisenberg as Columbus, who survives thanks to a strict set of rules
- Emma Stone as Wichita/Krista, a hardened survivor who is reluctant to settle down with Columbus
- Abigail Breslin as Little Rock, Wichita's rebellious younger sister
- Rosario Dawson as Nevada, owner of an Elvis-themed motel
- Zoey Deutch as Madison, a dumb blonde who has been living in a mall since the zombie apocalypse began when she was 14
- Luke Wilson as Albuquerque, Flagstaff's partner whose personality mirrors Tallahassee
- Avan Jogia as Berkeley, a pacifist, whom Little Rock picks up
- Thomas Middleditch as Flagstaff, Albuquerque's partner who has his own set of commandments for survival, and whose personality mirrors Columbus'
Production
Development
After Zombieland success, writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick soon planned a possible sequel, with many more ideas they wanted to explore. "We would love it, and everybody involved creatively wants to do another one," Wernick said in 2009. "Woody Harrelson came up to us after the final cut of the last scene and gave us a hug and said, 'At the time of the first film's release, Reese and Wernick said they were not planning on an immediate sequel, due to being heavily involved with other writing projects. By November 2009, the original cast and director were all set to return, with Fleischer enthusiastic about the idea of making the sequel in 3D. In 2010, Fleischer stated that he was working on the screenplay, and the creators had begun searching for another "superstar cameo".
In July 2011, Eisenberg said that he was "not sure what's happening" with the sequel, but that the writers were working on Zombieland 2. He also expressed concern that a sequel would no longer be "relevant". Harrelson said that he was hesitant to return for a sequel as well, adding, "It's one thing to do it when it came out real good and it made a lot of people laugh, but then do a sequel? I don't know. I don't feel like a sequels guy."
In February 2016, the project was officially revived, with Reese and Wernick again set to write the script. In August 2016, Reese and Wernick confirmed that they were working on Zombieland 2 and meeting with Woody Harrelson to discuss the film, while stating "all the cast is pretty excited."
In March 2017, it was revealed that the script for Zombieland 2 had been completed, with Wernick and Reese stating:
In May 2018, Harrelson said that he hoped the film would be in production by early 2019, and that it would be released in time for the original's tenth anniversary.
Pre-production
On July 13, 2018, Zombieland: Double Tap was officially greenlit by Sony Pictures. Ruben Fleischer returned to direct while Eisenberg, Harrelson, Stone and Breslin reprised their roles. Sanford Panitch, president of Columbia Pictures, declared in a press release:In November 2018, Zoey Deutch and Avan Jogia joined the cast. In December 2018, it was confirmed that Bill Murray would return for the sequel, once again playing the fictionalized version of himself. In January 2019, Rosario Dawson joined the cast of the film. Thomas Middleditch and Luke Wilson joined in February. The writers originally envisioned Ryan Reynolds in the role of Bill, but scheduling conflicts and family obligations prevented him starring in the film.