Source:Variety

June 11, 2009

Dark Hero Studios partners David Hayter and Benedict Carver have joined with Pandemonium's Bill Mechanic to turn the comic book "Deadworld" into a zombie feature franchise, says Variety.

Hayter (Watchmen) will write the screenplay, and he and Mechanic will produce with Framelight's Robert L. Robinson Jr. and Jeffrey D. Erb. Carver and Pandemonium's Suzanne Warren will be executive producers along with Gary Reed, who wrote and co-created the comic.

"Deadworld" veers from the popular zombie mythology of depicting an apocalypse in which humans are overrun by flesh-eating corpses. "Deadworld" picks up four months after that event, where the Dead overtake the Earth, with humans few and far between. The protagonist is King Zombie, a Harley-riding corpse who holds a grudge against the survivors who made him an outcast.

The plan is to begin production next year. In addition to writing the script, Hayter will conceive and design the look of the film.

"It's very much about the design of the Deadworld and creating cool, frightening but not necessarily gory creatures," Hayter said. "I am a huge fan of zombie mythology."