Since its release in 2004, Edgar Wright‘s “Shaun of the Dead” has grown to become one of the century’s most beloved comedy films. But as popular a touchstone as the film remains, co-writer and star Simon Pegg has made it clear that a sequel to the zombie rom-com isn’t on his to-do list in the future.
“If I ever do an Instagram Live or whatever, people are always like, ‘I need ‘Shaun of the Dead 2’ in my life,’” Pegg said in a recent interview with The Guardian. “And I’m like, ‘No, you don’t fucking need ‘Shaun of the Dead 2!’ The last thing you need is ‘Shaun of the Dead 2!’ It’s done. Move on!’”
The original “Shaun of the Dead” starred Pegg as the titular Shaun, a slacker salesman who gets dumped by his girlfriend right before the onslaught of a zombie apocalypse. The film was a sleeper success upon release, grossing $30 million worldwide on a $6 million budget. Although a sequel was never officially made, it did form the first in what became an unofficial trilogy of films directed by Wright and starring Pegg and Nick Frost. The other two in the “Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy, “Hot Fuzz” and “The World’s End,” were released in 2007 and 2013, respectively.
Pegg, who was interviewed by The Guardian to promote his upcoming role in “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” further revealed that he and Wright spent a week last summer brainstorming working on a fourth feature film together. Pegg admitted that progress on creating a fourth film was “slow,” although he claimed it was because Wright’s dog was a distraction, but said they came up with a few ideas. Pegg didn’t reveal further details of their plans, but said the film won’t be a followup to the Three Falvours films, and will be very different from those three genre parody films.
“Whatever Edgar and I do next, we’re not going to rely on what we’ve done before,” Pegg told The Guardian. “I like the idea of pissing people off. There’s something fun about torching everything. Everything that people think we are, that’s what we won’t be. We should just do something that no one’s expecting.” Pegg laughs, “But no one wants!”
Since “The World’s End,” the pair — who also created the TV series “Spaced” together — have yet to make another film together. Wright has since directed “Baby Driver” and “Last Night at SoHo.” Pegg has acted in several films, most prominently the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, which he joined with the fourth installment “Ghost Protocol.” “Dead Reckoning Part One” — starring series lead Tom Cruise along with Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Henry Czerny, and Pom Klementieff — releases in theaters July 12. “Part Two,” which is billed as the last film in the franchise, releases June 28, 2024.
