Word on the street is that George A. Romero is in the Toronto area right now, getting ready to start production on his next zombie flick. He shot his last two films there (Land of the Dead and Diary of the Dead) and up until now it has been assumed that the new movie he is currently working on is the long-rumoured Diary of the Dead 2. But hold on a second there. We’re starting to hear some reports around the web that Romero’s next film is not a sequel to Diary of the Dead after all.

According to Shock Till You Drop, the movie will be set on an island (Toronto Island?), and according to Movieset, it will involve underwater zombies (but will it have sharks?). The movie is currently untitled, and is being referred to internally as “Something of the Dead”. Here’s the thing: even if it’s not technically called Diary of the Dead 2, I still get the feeling that it’s merely a sequel in disguise. Apparently people auditioning for the movie have been told to watch Diary of the Dead for reference, and Schlock Around The Clock offers this quote from Romero about the film:

“It’ll be about three weeks in [past the outbreak] and it doesn’t start with the people in the mansion [at the end of Diary]. It starts with the blonde who drove away and the national guardsmen who robbed the people. So those are the only characters that return. What it’s about is tribalism. How the internet creates a Hatfields and McCoys situation. It’s on an island, where people have been lured by someone on the net as a safe haven, but really what these guys are trying to do is hold them up at the boat docks.”

Considering the generally negative response to Diary of the Dead, I guess I’d want to distance myself from the title as well. Will this be a return to form for Romero, or will it only continue to water down the series?