Ed Harris and Matthew Fox Won't Enlist in 'World War Z'

Friday, 01 July 2011 08:43 Written by Jordan DeSaulnier

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Ed Harris and Matthew Fox Won't Enlist in 'World War Z'

World War Z, the would-be epic adaptation of Max Brooks' oral history of a fictitious zombie pandemic and near-apocalypse, spent so many months in development hell that the project seemed doomed, even with the presence of director Marc Forster and International Movie Star® Brad Pitt. Paramount Pictures finally put together a co-financing deal with Skydance Productions to cover the film's huge cost, however, and just like that, it was reanimated and dragged from the grave. Forster continues casting, but he'll have to do without two big names who were in talks several weeks ago, as both Matthew Fox and Ed Harris will not appear in World War Z.

More than two weeks ago, Fox and Harris were reportedly in negotiations, with Fox looking to portray a military "parajumper" and Harris in an unspecified role. Those negotiations, it seems, did not proceed without a hitch. According to Vulture, neither actor will show up in the film. In Fox's case, this is due to a scheduling conflict, as he is set to play a villainous serial killer to Tyler Perry's titular detective in I, Alex Cross. As for Harris, his lack of involvement in unexplained for the time being.

The film is currently in production in Malta, and new actors are being sought to fill these roles with all due haste in Los Angeles and London.

World War Z still has Pitt playing a United Nations researcher compiling individual stories of the zombie pandemic from survivors all over the world. Two veterans of AMC series are also in the cast: Mireille Enos of The Killing and James Badge Dale of Rubicon. Anthony Mackie has also reportedly been offered a role, but the status of his involvement is so far unknown.

Comic book writer/Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski and The Kingdom screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan adapted Brooks' novel into what will be a PG-13 zombie event movie. Marc Forster is known for directing dramas such as Monster's Ball, The Kite Runner, and Finding Neverland, but he recently made the move into big budget action filmmaking with the last Bond film, Quantum of Solace.