Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg and Abigail Breslin are together again in this exclusive Zombieland 2 image

(Image credit: Sony)

Sequels to beloved comedies are often disappointing – just look at Anchorman 2 and Zoolander 2. Yet, the director of Zombieland 2: Double Tap is surprisingly confident about the second part.

“So many sequels don’t live up to the original, but I feel very proud and confident of the fact that we’ve made something that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the original film,” Fleischer tells our sister publication Total Film magazine. “Nobody was interested in making this movie if we didn’t feel like we could compete with the first one, to be at least as good, if not better. That was the bar we set.” 

Double Tap sees Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg and Abigail Breslin all return as their characters from the original film, named Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita and Little Rock. Ten years on, are still a dysfunctional makeshift family unit, living in a world that’s starting to show the wear-and-tear of the end of civilisation. An exclusive image of the gang can be seen above, courtesy of Total Film.

Speaking about working on a script to the sequel, Fleischer says: "It took a while to get the right script – a draft that got everyone really excited to return. And then it was just a matter of finding a time where all of our schedules aligned.” Double Tap, he teases, could feature a treat to rival Bill Murray’s movie-stealing Zombieland cameo. “I share that love of Bill Murray in the first one,” says the director. “I don’t know how you could ever top that, but if someone were to stay to the finish of the film, perhaps they might see something a little special…” 

Also in this month's Total Film magazine, Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips speak at length about Joker, with Phillips also touching on how the movie has been influences by The Hangover trilogy and whether there could be a sequel. The new issue reaches store shelves on August 23.

If you’re a fan of Total Film, why not subscribe so that you never miss an issue, and you’ll get exclusive subscriber-only covers delivered directly to your doormat before the magazine hits shelves? What are you waiting for? 

We’re currently running a subscription offer where you can subscribe from as little as £12.25 every three months, and you’ll also get five blockbuster movies to run from Rakuten TV (which you can watch on any supported device including Smart TVs, consoles, tablets, smartphones and more). Head to My Favourite Magazines now to take advantage of the offer. (Ts and Cs apply).

Richard is a freelancer journalist and editor, and was once a physicist. Rich is the former editor of SFX Magazine, but has since gone freelance, writing for websites and publications including GamesRadar+, SFX, Total Film, and more. He also co-hosts the podcast, Robby the Robot's Waiting, which is focused on sci-fi and fantasy. 

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