Director Marc Forster talks about World War Zs political relevance

Director Marc Forster has spoken to The Playlist about his take on Max Brooks’ zombie novel World War Z .

It seems the Quantum Of Solace and Finding Neverland helmer won’t be shying away from the political dimensions of the zombie apocalypse.

At the Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF, if you will) Forster said, “Zombies have always been a metaphor for the darker side of humanity.

“In the ‘70s with George Romero, when Dawn Of The Dead came out, it was a criticism of consumerism and so on.

I do think that as that has picked up steam, it’s a very interesting time we live in with the Middle East and even what happens in the US, and I feel one could say a lot, and that’s just purely as a political platform, but also an entertaining platform.

“You can combine the two in a way that has a meaning as a metaphor for the times we live in at the same time as doing a genre picture.”

World War Z , starring Brad Pitt, Bryan Cranston and Matthew Fox, is currently shooting. It’s expected to open on 21 December 2012 in the US.

Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.