George Romero Collaborator Promises to Adapt Director’s Four Finished Scripts

As recent as weeks ago, fans were thrilled over the news that George Romero was returning to the world of zombies with the new project Road of the Dead. Although Romero wasn’t going to direct the project, he was going to help develop it with frequent collaborator Matt Birman. News of the director’s passing clearly had an impact on the latest zombie movie, but Birman revealed that he’s not just determined to get the film made, but also wants to help produce four films based on scripts written by Romero.

When speaking with IndieWire, Birman explained, “I will stop at nothing to get them made! For him and with him.” The director claims the screenplays are “fantastic scripts” and went on to reveal, “He said to me, ‘Let’s get this done so we can get on to the other stuff!’”

Of these four scripts, two of them were based on novels while the other two were original stories. Additionally, only one of them was a zombie movie, which was actually a comedy. Birman had a hand in co-writing one of the scripts.

UP NEXT: George Romero’s Best Non-Zombie Projects To Check Out

Birman had planned to attend the Fantasia International Film Festival with Romero to secure funding for Road of the Dead, with the director still planning on heading to the conference with even more determination.

“Road of the Dead now becomes a legacy film,” Birman confessed. “We won’t only be making the film for him, it will also be with him. He will be by my side and in my ear for the rest of my career, I have no doubt.”

Not just content to make a compelling film, Birman claims one of the goals of finishing the project is “to protect and maintain the legacy and integrity of both the artist and the man.” Birman added, “He was a no-bulls**t, super honest, tell-it-like-it-is man and I will always continue in that tradition.”

MORE NEWS: 6 Things You Might Not Know About ‘Dawn Of The Dead’

The premise of Road of the Dead is as follows:

“In the darkest days of the zombie apocalypse, the last safe place on earth is anything but, as a mad despot uses the spectacle of high-octane carnage to keep control of his populace.”

Romero initially decided to take a back seat on the production, as he considered himself “a story guy” and the action-oriented new film “isn’t [his] cup of tea.”

Birman served as the second-unit director on Romero’s last three zombie films, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, and Survival of the Dead.