'Night of the Living Dead' Getting Official Sequel From Original Filmmakers

Filmmaker George Romero continued the mythology he established in 1968's Night of the Living Dead with Dawn of the Dead in 1978. That film explored the aftermath of the dead coming back to life and society's response to the unkillable threat, but Living Dead Media confirmed a direct sequel to the original film will be debuting next year, adapted from a script created by the original film's producers and writers.

"Night of the Living Dead first brought zombies to the silver screen in 1968. The world was unprepared for the film's flesh starved ghouls, which resulted in a groundbreaking and commercial success," the group shared with Bloody Disgusting. "It remains one of the most influential and revered horror films of all time and now sits in the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art for its cultural significance. Written by John A. Russo and directed by George A. Romero, Night of the Living Dead created the foundation for the five Return of the Living Dead films that gave us TARMAN and his famous catchphrase 'More Brains!', popularizing brain-eating zombies and defining the modern dark comedy-horror genre in the process. Romero's Trilogy of the Dead series also owes its roots to the classic. In addition, Night of the Living Dead is not only credited with spawning a generation of zombie films,but all modern horror films."

They added, "That history and Night of the Living Dead's place on the Mt. Rushmore of horror films is known by most horror fans and people all over the world. But, unknown to most is that in the 1970s, the original writers and producers of Night of the Living Dead penned a sequel to their masterpiece. A sequel that inexplicably has gone unproduced for over forty years – until now. Living Dead Media has brushed away the dirt from this amazing follow up to a classic and brought together a great team to produce the new film."

The group didn't reveal any details about the project, though with the title being "Night of the Living Dead Part II," it will likely deviate from the events of Dawn of the Dead, possibly focusing on smaller communities before the zombie infestation grew to city-wide levels.

Earlier this year, Romero's wife, Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, revealed that the late filmmaker left behind dozens of scripts that have gone unproduced.

"George was a prolific writer. He loved to write, and we have 40, 50 scripts that he's written, and a lot of it is very good," Romero shared with ComicBook.com. "He had a lot to say, and he still does, because I'm gonna make sure that he does. It's my mission."

It's unclear if Night of the Living Dead Part II is one of these scripts the filmmaker left behind, or if it was a different group of producers that developed the upcoming film's concept.

You can stay updated on the project by heading to NightoftheLivingDead.com.

Are you looking forward to the sequel? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T Bloody Disgusting]