Shaun of the Dead reboot: Is it finally happening? Here’s what actor Simon Pegg said

Renowned actor Simon Pegg has addressed the idea of a Shaun of the Dead reboot, asserting that both he and director Edgar Wright would be "incensed" by such a project. In a recent discussion, Pegg revealed that Universal Pictures owns the rights to the 2004 rom-zom-com and technically has the freedom to reboot it. However, any such plans would leave him profoundly unhappy.

“I mean, Universal [Pictures] owns it. If they choose to reboot it, then they can if they want I guess. Although Edgar and I would be incensed”, as quoted in a report by Movieweb.

A Deeply Personal Project

Pegg elaborated on why a Shaun of the Dead reboot would be particularly upsetting, describing the original film as "incredibly personal." He highlighted that many relationships and scenarios in the movie were inspired by real-life experiences shared by himself and Wright, including Shaun's fixation on his local pub.

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“Shaun of the Dead is incredibly personal. There’s so much of us in that film. The whole joke of Ed and Shaun not being able to ever come out of The Winchester was real. That was about Nick and I, that was about our decision to just stay in a North London pub. Edgar was always in town. He was always in Soho, and he always wanted us to come into town and hang out at [London private members’ club] The Groucho, and we never did. We always wanted to be in The Shepherds [pub]. My girlfriend, now my wife, was the same. She was like, ‘Are we going to The Shepherds again?’ That inspired that whole storyline”, as quoted in a reboot by Movieweb.

The Future of Shaun of the Dead

The first installment in Wright and Pegg's Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, Shaun of the Dead follows a group of Londoners as they navigate a sudden zombie apocalypse. The film concludes with the undead being integrated into society, and Shaun keeping his best friend Ed, now a zombie, in his shed. Despite discussions over the years about a potential sequel titled From Dusk till Shaun, Pegg is now fairly certain that a follow-up will not materialize.

“I don’t think so. I’m a big fan of sequels. Some of my favorite films are sequels: Empire Strikes Back, Aliens. I’m in a couple of film franchises which repeat and reboot, and it’s not that I decry sequels in any way, but I think some stories end. Some stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. If you were to see Shaun again, if the zombies came back, there’s just not a story to tell it. We’d have to reset everything that we created in Shaun of the Dead, the journey that Shaun goes on and completes. He becomes a new person, but we’d have to then dismantle that in order to give him a new arc. Why? The best thing we can do with cinema is to challenge people and get them to see things they haven’t seen before and experience new things. Entertainment is the most overrated function of art.”

Simon Pegg's Current and Upcoming Projects

Simon Pegg continues to engage audiences with his versatile acting skills. He is currently part of the ensemble cast of Prime Video’s The Boys and is set to appear on the big screen alongside Tom Cruise in the forthcoming Mission: Impossible 8.

FAQs:

What is Shaun of the Dead a parody of?
"Shaun of the Dead" was inspired by ideas Pegg and Wright explored in their 1999-2001 television sitcom "Spaced," particularly an episode where Pegg's character hallucinates a zombie invasion. The film also pays homage to George A. Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" series.

Is Shaun of the Dead a comedy?
Parents should be aware that "Shaun of the Dead" is a horror comedy in which a London slacker, played by Simon Pegg, and his friends must fight for survival during a zombie outbreak.