The Dead Don't Die (2019 film)

The Dead Don't Die is a 2019 American zombie comedy film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It features an ensemble cast including Adam Driver, Bill Murray, Selena Gomez, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Austin Butler, RZA, Tilda Swinton, Tom Waits, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Rosie Perez and Carol Kane, and follows a small town's police force as they combat a sudden zombie invasion.

It had its world premiere as the opening film at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2019 and is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on June 14, 2019, by Focus Features.

Plot
In a peaceful, small town, zombies suddenly rise from their graves, terrorizing the citizens. Three bespectacled police officers and a strange Scottish mortician with a love for drag makeup and sword fighting must band together to try and stay alive. The road to survival, however, may be a dead end.

Cast
Additionally, Larry Fessenden, Rosal Colon, Sturgill Simpson, Maya Delmont, Taliyah Whitaker, and Jahi Winston appear in the film.
 * Bill Murray as Chief Cliff Robertson
 * Adam Driver as Officer Ronald "Ronnie" Peterson
 * Tilda Swinton as Zelda Winston
 * Chloë Sevigny as Officer Minerva "Mindy" Morrison
 * Steve Buscemi as Farmer Miller
 * Danny Glover as Hank Thompson
 * Caleb Landry Jones as Bobby Wiggins
 * Rosie Perez as Posie Juarez
 * Iggy Pop as Coffee Zombie
 * Sara Driver as Coffee Zombie
 * RZA as Dean
 * Carol Kane as Mallory O'Brien
 * Selena Gomez as Zoe
 * Tom Waits as Hermit Bob
 * Austin Butler as Jack
 * Eszter Balint as Lily
 * Luka Sabbat as Zach

Production
In February 2018, during the press tour for Isle of Dogs, Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton announced their involvement in a zombie film directed by Jim Jarmusch.

In March 2018, Bill Murray announced that Daniel Craig and Rosie Perez were set to costar. Speaking of the project, Murray stated:

"It’s a zombie movie. Jim Jarmusch has written a zombie script that’s so hilarious and it has a cast of great actors: Rosie Perez, Daniel Craig. It's titled The Dead Don't Die, and it shoots over the summer. But, no, I will not play a zombie."

In July 2018, it was announced that Adam Driver, Selena Gomez, Chloë Sevigny, Austin Butler, Steve Buscemi and Tilda Swinton had been cast in the film alongside Murray (however, neither Perez nor Craig were noted as still being attached to the film). Joshua Astrachan and Carter Logan will produce the film, while Focus Features will distribute the film. Caleb Landry Jones joined the cast later in the month.

Principal photography began in July 2018 in Fleischmanns, about 140 miles outside of New York City.

Release
The Dead Don't Die had its world premiere as the opening film at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2019. The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 14, 2019.

Critical response
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 51% based on 53 reviews, and an average rating of 5.93/10, with the critical consensus saying, "The Dead Don't Die dabbles with tones and themes to varying degrees of success, but sharp wit and a strong cast make this a zom-com with enough brains to consume." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 57 out of 100 from 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".