It might seem a little late for yet another twist on the well-flesh-eaten trope of zombies, but Colin Firth is hoping there's a little life left in it yet. He signed on to lead New York Will Eat You Alive.
The Final Girls' Todd Strauss-Schulson is on to direct the film, which has seen writing from Alex Rubens, Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, inspired by and based on Jia Haibo's Tencent comic Zombie Brother, which has also spawned an animated series and a stage play.
The comic's story is set in City H, where the water supply has been contaminated by an ancient coffin. People who drink the water therefore turn into “Zombie Brothers” who eat others to evolve. The main character is Bai Xiaofei, an ordinary boy who loves playing computer games at home — the story follows Bai as he steps out of the house and hits the road to find his girlfriend. From the sounds of that, the film will be fairly different.
"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," says STXfilms boss Adam Fogelson, whose company is involved in producing the film. "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."