With "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" officially closing the doors on the "Twilight" saga of star-crossed vampire love, the studio behind the films, Summit, is anxious to find its next breakout movie series. So, it's only fitting the studio is packaging the final "Twilight" film with the debut trailer for its next bright hope in the supernatural romance genre. When "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" opens in theaters Nov. 16 audiences will get their first taste of "Warm Bodies."
Click here to see the trailer for "Warm Bodies"
Adapted from a novel of the same name by Isaac Marion, "Warm Bodies" is a zombie romantic comedy that makes allusions to William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" while pushing the much explored horror sub-genre into new territory.
"Warm Bodies" tells the story of "R," a male zombie who wanders America after the apocalypse, shambling through collapsed buildings, and abandoned high rises. R can only grunt or moan to communicate, and eats human brains to "get high on their memories."
After eating the brains of a suicidal teen, R is overwhelmed with love for the teen's significant other, Julie Grigio. "R rescues Julie from his zombie pack and takes her back to his lair. Julie eventually leaves, and R follows her back to Citi Stadium, the largest remaining human refuge," says the film's press release.
The book version of "Warm Bodies" was released in 2010 to generally positive reviews, garnering endorsements from "Twilight" author Stephanie Meyer, and "Sean of the Dead" star and writer Simon Pegg, who called it "a mesmerizing evolution of a classic contemporary myth."
The film is directed by Jonathan Levine, a filmmaker known for his strong dramatic comedies like "50/50," and "The Wackness," and stars Nicholas Hoult (Hank McCoy/Beast in the 2011 film "X-Men: First Class") and Teresa Palmer ("I Am Number Four").
"The film focuses on the development of the relationship between Julie (a teenage girl) and R (a zombie), their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world," says Summit.
Levine said that even though this is a love story that happens to involve zombies, he hopes people don't box the film into one category and that the zombie enthusiasts will be open to a new twist on the genre. "I think this movie takes the mythology in a different direction, and I think there is a lot there for die-hard zombie fans," he explained to MTV News.
"We're encouraging people to be open-minded, because it does take some liberties with the mythology, but at the same time, it's very grounded in the science of zombie-ism and uses that as a springboard for a more fantastical story. It may be divisive, but I think there's a lot there for zombie fans if they're open-minded to a new take on it, and I hope they can," Levine added.
"Warm Bodies" will be released in theaters on Feb. 1, 2013.