20 years later, Simon Pegg says there’s not a story for a Shaun of the Dead sequel.
It’s been 20 years since Shaun of the Dead opened in theaters with zombie film quickly becoming a fan favorite and remaining an enduring classic two decades later. In the years since the film’s release, however, there are fans who have hoped there would be a direct sequel to the film — Shaun of the Dead is itself part of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy and was followed by Hot Fuzz in 2007 and The World’s End 2013, though neither films are true sequels. But while fans may want a Shaun of the Dead sequel, they shouldn’t hold out for one. Pegg says there’s “not a story to tell” for one.
“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,” Pegg told The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
This isn’t the first time Pegg has said a sequel to Shaun of the Dead simply isn’t in the cards. Last year, Pegg told The Guardian that fans should “move on” from the idea of a sequel.
“If I ever do an Instagram Live or whatever, people are always like, ‘I need Shaun of the Dead 2 in my life,'” Pegg recalled. “And I’m like, ‘No, you don’t f-cking need Shaun of the Dead 2! The last thing you need is Shaun of the Dead 2! It’s done. Move on!'”
Could Shaun of the Dead Get a Reboot?
While Pegg isn’t interested in making a sequel to the iconic film, in the era of projects getting reboots and revivals, Pegg was also asked if the film could get a reboot — and while Pegg said it’s technically possible, he and Wright would be “incensed”.
“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,” he said.
“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 wife, was the same. She was like, ‘Are we going to The Shepherds again?’ That inspired the whole storyline.”
Edgar Wright Also Doesn’t Want a Remake
Wright has also previously said that he isn’t interested in a remake or adaptation of the film, saying in 2023 that he and Pegg are protective of things.
“There have been some conversations about that, yes. We’ve been quite protective about that,” Wright said on an episode of Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast. “A long time ago, an American company wanted to do a TV series of ‘Shaun of the Dead,’ based on the film. We were like, ‘No!’. Sometimes when these things come up, we take them very seriously. And some things are things we are still talking about.”
