Prolific and highly regarded director Edgar Wright has opened up about his reluctance to return to horror-comedy as a genre. Wright and his buddies (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) were sharing their affection for George Romero's Dawn of The Dead one night over drinks when the idea to create their own zombie flick crept upon them.
At the time, Wright and Pegg had collaborated before on the sitcom Spaced. Already having their comedic skills put to practice and sharpened through their experience working on a sitcom, the pair was ready to set the bar even higher by throwing in elements of horror. Pegg had written one episode of Spaced in which his character ends up fighting zombies in his flat.
Pegg and Wright had so much fun shooting that one episode that they figured they may as well just take a shot at a feature themselves. The inspiration behind Shaun of the Dead also came from a culmination of too many nights spent holed up in the flat and getting wasted at the pub. Pegg stated in a 2020 interview with The Guardian, "We thought we ought to make a zombie movie - like it was that easy. We really were so naïve. We thought we could do anything.”
The naivety of how much time and work goes into making a single movie is part of the reason why Wright has claimed he will not go back to horror-comedy. He is keen on challenging himself as a director, writer, and overall artist. He feels he would be wasting time working on a project in which he already accomplished what he set out to do. Wright stated to SFX Magazine, “The thing is that films take so long to make. They’ll say, why don’t you knock out a Shaun sequel? It’s like, these films take three years to make, you’ve got to really, really love it to do it. So because films take longer to make, trying to challenge yourself with a different subject matter or something you haven’t done before, it’s always the real motivator.”
Wright might claim that he will not be returning to horror-comedy, yet that doesn’t mean fans will never see him dip his toes back into the genres individually. With this statement, it seems Wright is more so shooting down the idea of creating a sequel to Shaun of the Dead or any project that would resemble the overall tone and genre of the film. Wright will be making a come back to horror with his upcoming film, Last Night in Soho.
Yet even categorizing that film as strictly horror would be doing injustice to Wright’s vision. Last Night in Soho is a genre-bending, time-warping film with a synopsis that cannot be simply defined and forced into a box. Wright is utilizing notions of not only horror but fantasy, thriller, and mystery as well, solidifying his ability to bring something different to the table that isn't your typical, average horror or comedy flick.
Last Night in Soho will be in theaters on October 29th, 2021.
Source: Games Radar