George A. Romero Working On An Adaptation Of 'The Zombie Autopsies'

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This may get some fans all hot and bothered, but this writer is just gonna come out and say it. While there is no denying George A. Romero‘s place in horror history, the director hasn’t made a relevant statement in the zombie genre in almost three decades. While the genre itself has soared in popularity in the past few years, becoming positively mainstream, Romero hasn’t had much to add to the equation and the less said about this last effort, “Survival Of The Dead,” the better. But, it appears the 71 year-old helmer is going to take another crack at a zombie movie, hopefully with better results.

According to Zombie Research (via Bleeding Cool) Romero is working on an adaptation of Steven Schlozman’s novel “The Zombie Autopsies” in collaboration with the author. The concept is not unlike that of “World War Z” or “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” Similar to those books that the movies are based on, “The Zombie Autopsies” is presented as a journal written by a neuroscientist, Dr. Stanley Blum, who is infected but is desperately working on a cure to treat zombies. And the journal details the rather gruesome forensic methods they employ.

Romero has always been known for pinning political allusions to each of his zombie flicks, but we’re not sure what the connection is here unless it’s going to be some tenuous link to universal health care or something. Here’s hoping he can get some proper funding this time, because “Survival Of The Dead” was not helped by its threadbare budget. But with a number of zombie movies in development or production — “World War Z,” “Warm Bodies,” “Pride And Prejudice And Zombies,” a “ZombielandTV show among many many more — not to mention the smash success of “The Walking Dead,” Romero is entering a cultural sphere that has changed the zombie game entirely. But he’s doggedly focused on his zombie-verse, for better or worse, even if it means turning down jobs like directing an episode of the hit AMC series.

“I love the books, I haven’t seen any of the episodes. Listen, I love Frank [Darabont], I know he’s done a good job. I love the books, I never watched any of the episodes because… my zombies are sort of my own,” he recently explained to io9. “I didn’t want to be part of it. Producers called and said, “do you want to direct some of these,” and I said no. Because I just didn’t think it was me. I’ve been waiting to see the whole first season, which I missed because I’ve been traveling. I’ve been waiting to look at it, but I haven’t seen any of it.”

So, is the world ready for another zombie movie from Romero, or his voice now dated as the genre has pushed forward? Guess we’ll find out.