Dead Rising: Watchtower, a movie based on the epic video game franchise, begins filming today.
The Dead Rising movie is actually happening. This should make for one badass zombie movie with some character.
Directed by Zach Lipovsky (Leprechaun: Origins) and written by Tim Carter (Mortal Kombat: Legacy), the movie begins filming today, according to an interview with the director. Lipovsky shared that while the staples of Dead Rising would make it into the movie (the zombie horde, specifically), their would be a brand new story. He told Slash Film:
The film is set in a new outbreak with new heroes, in a new city. So it’s not a direct adaptation of one of the previous games, but it does fit into the cannon of the storyline. It takes place between the Fortune City outbreak in Dead Rising 2 and Los Perdidos outbreak from Dead Rising 3. So it’s a part of the greater franchise narrative. Of course some familiar faces show up as well.
The 90-minute digital feature will premiere exclusively on Crackle before it arrives on other on demand services. To fans of the series who are skeptical of the film's digital-only format, Lipovsky said:
I have a feeling that if this was the 100+ million dollar version, it would star Tom Cruise and be watered down. The more money you spend, the greater the audience you have to please. This film is being made for the fans and that’s possible because it’s a digital feature. It’s being shot in Vancouver with the help of the Vancouver Capcom team that made games. We even have 2 Xboxes in the office. Someone is always running around putting pylons on heads while we are trying to have meetings. I’m a fan of the game, and I’m excited by how much of the world we’ve been able to cram in.
You could note that the Halo franchise already has a couple of digital-only features to its name, and that they were fairly well-received by fans. Halo Nightfall arrives in November. Capcom could continue the trend with its zombie film.
Finally, the cast list was revealed by Lipovsky:
Jesse Metcalfe (John Tucker Must Die, Desperate Housewives, Dallas) plays the lead
Meghan Ory (Once Upon A Time, Intelligence)
Virginia Madsen (Sideways, Candyman, The Number 23)
Dennis Haysbert (24, The Unit)
Keagan Connor Tracy (Bates Motel, Once Upon A Time, Battlestar Galactica)
There you have it. Rev up your chainsaws for yet another zombie movie.
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