Twilight of the Dead is an upcoming horror film directed by the Paz Brothers, from a screenplay by Paolo Zelati, Joe Knetter and Robert L. Lucas, and starring Kate Beckinsale, Betty Gabriel, Abigail London, Kurt Deimer, Phil Burke, Cooper Barnes, Tait Fletcher, and John D. Hickman. The film is set to be the seventh and final installment in George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead series.
Twilight of the Dead is set to be theatrically released in the United States in 2027, by Magenta Light Studios.
Contents
Premise
Set on a tropical island, the film dives "into the dark nature of humanity from the perspective of the last humans on Earth who are caught between factions of the undead".
Cast
Kate Beckinsale
Betty Gabriel
Abigail London
Kurt Deimer
Phil Burke
Cooper Barnes
Tait Fletcher
John D. Hickman
Production
Development
In 2009, around the time of the release of Survival of the Dead, George A. Romero told Movies.com that he was considering a potential sequel with a "noir flavor", or a jungle adventure with people traveling down the Amazon River. Before his death in 2017, Romero had been working on a final chapter to his Night of the Living Dead series, and complete the storyline left off from Land of the Dead (2005). He had completed a treatment with the help of Paolo Zelati, and they had started working on the script together before Romero's death. Zelati approached Romero's widow, Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, to get permission to complete the script. She approved, and Zelati finished the script with screenwriters Joe Knetter and Robert L. Lucas. In April 2021, Desrocher-Romero announced that she was shopping the script, seeking a director for the project.
Roundtable Entertainment joined the project as production company and financier in August 2023. Brad Anderson was hired to direct the film in September 2023. Anderson was previously attached to direct the 2010 remake of Romero's The Crazies (1973). It was granted an interim agreement to perform casting activities before the end of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. By November 2024, Milla Jovovich and Betty Gabriel were cast in undisclosed roles. In May 2026, Kate Beckinsale was cast in the lead role, replacing Jovovich, Doron and Yoav Paz set as the new directors, and Magenta Light Studios acquiring the distribution rights. In June 2026, it was announced that Greg Nicotero would lead the visual effects team for the film. Nicotero was previously the makeup effects artist for Romero's Day of the Dead (1985). In the same month, producer Suzanne Desrocher-Romero died of natural causes. By September 2026, Abigail London, Kurt Deimer, Phil Burke, Cooper Barnes, Tait Fletcher and John D. Hickman filled out the cast.
Filming
Principal photography occurred in September 2026, in Kentucky, and wrapped by October 2. The production faced a union protest staged by Teamsters Local 89 based in Louisville that caused some altercations in Bon Ayr. The union claimed the picket as a success after crew van drivers were not receiving union benefits and not properly compensated for their work. Ultimately a new contract with TotD LLC was established by the end of the day after approximately 7 hours under picket. Filming was previously set to begin in late 2023 in Puerto Rico and in March 2025.
Release
Twilight of the Dead is set to be theatrically released in the United States by Magenta Light Studios in 2027.