Colin Firth will star in New York Will Eat You Alive, an adaptation of the digital comic Zombie Brother. Todd Strauss-Schulson, director of the excellent horror-comedy The Final Girls, is helming the film, which is about a group of New Yorkers trying to survive a monster apocalypse. Alex Rubens (Keanu), Dan Gregor (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and Doug Mand (Dolittle) all had a hand in the script. Channing Tatum is producing.
Deadline broke the news that Colin Firth will star in New York Will Eat You Alive, which they’re also saying is a tentative title. I hope it sticks, because it’s pretty damn good, and much better than Zombie Brother, the digital comic the film is based on. The comic, created by Jia Haibo, “is said to have over 28 billion views, while its animated series has amassed more than 3.7 billion views across its first two seasons.”
A film adaptation has been in the works since at least 2018, where it was revealed that the story “will follow Bai, as he teams up with his best friend Fatty, soon-to-be fiancé Beck, and a group of New Yorkers to survive a monster apocalypse. As the group travels through the city, they uncover the origin of the outbreak and must embark on a quest to stop the apocalypse and save the world.” I have no idea if that’s the same plot at the moment because Deadline doesn’t even attempt to provide a synopsis for the film. Make of that what you will!
Tencent, STXfilms, Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin, Peter Kiernan’s Free Association, and Ged Doherty of Above The Line Productions are all producing the project. Regarding Firth’s casting, Adam Fogelson, Chairman of the STXfilms Motion Picture Group, said: “We always wanted to cast this in a way that would give life to the source material and elevate the action and you can’t achieve that goal any better than hiring Colin Firth. From The King’s Speech to Kingsman, Colin always gives an Oscar-caliber performance. We’re thrilled to be reuniting with him on New York Will Eat You Alive in a role that will allow him to have fun while showcasing his deadpan humor and comic timing.”
I like the idea of Firth in a zombie comedy, and I really like the idea of Todd Strauss-Schulson doing another horror-comedy. I didn’t see Strauss-Schulson’s recent Isn’t It Romantic, but I’m a big fan of his flick The Final Girls, which has a great grasp on how to make horror-comedy work, and throws in a healthy dose of emotion to boot.
