Day of the Dead Show Confirmed To Connect To Original Movie

[Nergal]

 

Day of the Dead TV show is confirmed to connect to the original George Romero movie. Released in 1985, Romero’s film was the third in his storied zombie trilogy, which of course began with 1968’s Night of the Living Dead and continued with 1978’s Dawn of the Dead.

Set well after the beginning of the zombie apocalypse, Day of the Dead concerns a small group of military and scientific personnel surviving inside an underground installation while doing experiments on the undead in hopes of understanding the nature of the zombie menace. Though the third of Romero’s zombie films is not widely considered to be as good as either of the first two movies, the film is lauded today for its groundbreaking and still-shocking practical effects courtesy of master Tom Savini (and his then-assistant, future Walking Dead effects wizard Greg Nicotero). Now over 35 years after Day of the Dead wrapped up Romero’s original zombie trilogy in memorably gory fashion, Syfy has ordered a ten-episode follow-up series from writers and showrunners Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas.

It was previously reported that Syfy’s Day of the Dead show will take place in the first hours of the zombie apocalypse, a switch from the movie which as mentioned is set long after the initial outbreak. Now episode director Steven Kostanski has revealed another piece of information about the show, saying it does connect to the original Day of the Dead movie – though exactly how it connects is something he doesn’t want to elaborate on. Appearing on Bloody Disgusting’s Boo Crew podcast, Kostanski said:
 

 

“I actually wrapped up working on that back in December; I ended up shooting the first four episodes of the show. So it’s a ten episode series; it does have ties to the original movie. I can’t go into too many specifics, unfortunately. I’m not really allowed to say much of anything.”

Kostanski does say the new show is rather low-budget but assures fans that, despite those money limitations, the zombies are “super awesome.” Kostanski also teases some surprises for Romero fans, saying “It’s a very weird, interesting show, that I don’t think is what people are going to be expecting.”

It’s indeed very hard to say what to expect from Day of the Dead, given the scarcity of information about the show. The fact that the show is set early in the zombie apocalypse yet connects to the original movie would seem to indicate it involves the events leading up to that movie’s characters sequestering themselves inside the bunker in order to escape being eaten by zombies. Presumably, the show will also delve into the scientific questions about the zombies that were raised in the Day of the Dead movie, including their capacity for behavior beyond the normal shambling and groaning associated with Romero’s version of the undead. It remains to be seen exactly how much of Romero the new show will draw upon, but as it’s named after the director’s film, it seems the original zombie trilogy must serve as a pretty major inspiration, even if as Kostanski says there are some unexpected elements in play as well.