The big headlining panel of the day at Los Angeles Comic Con on Saturday, October 12, 2019 was the Zombieland: Double Tap panel on the Main Stage, which promised a “surprise” that attendees would not want to miss.
Although the panel was scheduled to begin at 4:30pm, that time came and went. Around 4:45pm, it was announced that there had been a delay, and the panel would get started in about 5-10 minutes. Finally, the panel started around 5:00pm. Luckily, the panel was scheduled to go until 5:25pm, so there wasn’t another panel’s time they were cutting into. Most other panels on the Main Stage were only given 30 minutes at the most, even the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot panel with Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes.
Deputy Mayor William Chun came out on stage to talk about the Evolve Entertainment Fund, which provides opportunities for kids who live in underprivileged areas of Los Angeles to work in the entertainment industry. In fact, some of the kids in that program were there working at LA Comic Con. He then introduced Ms. Moviefone herself, Grae Drake, who announced what the “surprise” was: the cast and creators of Zombieland: Double Tap were there!
The panelists included director Ruben Fleischer, writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, and actors Avan Jogia (Berkeley), Rosario Dawson (Nevada), Jesse Eisenberg (Columbus), and Zoey Deutch (Madison).
Going down the line, the panelists answered what their weapon of choice would be in the zombie apocalypse. Ruben would use a trowel because he could easily carry it around and whip it out at any time, Zoey would use her nails, Jesse would run away, Rosario would use her mind, and Avan would use a plank of wood because it could be modified, such as putting nails in it. Being a writer, Paul said he would use a pen because “the pen is mightier than the sword.” But then he quickly changed his mind and said he’d use a sword. Meanwhile, Rhett’s weapon would be a Cuisinart!
As for how this second Zombieland movie came about, Ruben was the one who put it into motion five years ago when he called the studio. At the time, Paul and Rhett were working on Deadpool 2, so other writers stepped in until they became available to come in and finish it off, and all of the original cast members were able to return as well. Ruben said that they tried to get back the magic of the first film as closely as possible. They set a high bar for themselves, and he thinks this might be the funniest zombie movie there is.
Zoey gave the audience a taste of her “Valley Girl” accent that she uses in the film. She was excited about using the accent, as she herself was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, so she has had 24 years to study the accent!
We then watched a clip from the film of Jesse’s character, Columbus, meeting Zoey’s character, Madison. He is busy sniffing candles (due to the horrible smell of Zombieland), when he hears a noise behind him and instinctively shoots, thinking it’s a zombie. However, it’s Madison, whom he barely misses. He goes in for a handshake, but she gives him a hug. Woody Harrelson’s character, Tallahassee, comes in on a Segway, and she asks if that’s his dad! This doesn’t make Tallahassee very happy, especially when Columbus invites Madison to stay with them where they’ve set up camp nearby – the White House – instead of the freezer she’s been living in. Columbus also gets excited to share his rules with her when he learns that she has rules too. Although, it turns out her “rules” mainly consist of her staying in the freezer.
Following the clip, Zoey acknowledged how “cozy” it was wearing a velour tracksuit for the whole movie. Additionally, Jesse talked about how excited Columbus was to be able to share his rules with someone who might actually appreciate them, unlike Emma Stone’s character, Wichita, whom he is dating, and who does not follow his rules.
We learned that Avan’s character, Berkeley, actually splits off from the rest of the group with Abigail Breslin’s character, Little Rock, in their own “mini movie.” Avan explained that his character likes to pass off others’ original music as his own in order to get laid. When asked what his favorite moment from the movie was, he answered, “I got yelled at by Woody Harrelson for a whole movie, it was great.”
Rosario was actually a huge fan of the first film. According to her, even if she wasn’t in this film, she would be just as excited to see it when it comes out. Rosario described her character, Nevada, as resourceful, independent, fun, fierce, and wild. She loved playing her and pretending to have way better driving skills than she actually has. Due to her fandom, being in this movie was a great behind the scenes experience for her, except she had to keep reminding herself that she needed to act as well! One of her favorite scenes was a shootout scene that took three days to film, but only takes a few minutes to watch.
When it comes to their writing process, Paul and Rhett just typically sit in a small room in their pajamas — or underwear! However, there is some improvisation in the movie as well, just as there was in the previous film. Luke Wilson plays Albuquerque, Tallahassee’s doppelganger, while Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley) plays Flagstaff, the doppelganger of Columbus. Similar to how Columbus has his list of rules, Flagstaff has commandments. There’s a scene where the two end up getting into a rules/commandments battle, and considering that both actors are great improvisers, it ends up being a hilarious scene full of them improvising.
Paul and Rhett commented that they appreciate when brilliant improvisational actors end up making them look better. Compared to the last movie, Jesse thought there was actually less improvisation in this one, because there are more complicated things going on, but the writers thought it was about the same. Regarding a kill scene that they didn’t get to do in the first movie that they were able to do in this one, the writers teased that we might get to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa fall on someone.
We also got to watch a second clip from the film. In the clip, Columbus and Tallahassee go into a place that looks a lot like Graceland but isn’t. They come across Elvis’ actual blue suede shoes. Tallahassee has Columbus try to put the shoes on him, but unfortunately Tallahassee’s feet are too big. Then Columbus tries them on, and it’s a perfect fit! Tallahassee, being a huge Elvis fan, is very jealous. They venture in further, where there’s more Elvis memorabilia around, including a piano, where Tallahassee sits down and begins to play and sing. He is promptly knocked to the ground and held at gunpoint by none other than Nevada, who doesn’t want to get any more specific than that about where she’s from.
One more big surprise was that members of the audience would have the chance to go to a special screening of Zombieland: Double Tap that very night! Ten lucky LA Comic Con attendees would be given a wristband and then led from the convention center, across the street to L.A. Live to see the movie. How did they decide? Well, the panelists each took turns picking out someone from the audience in cosplay! I wasn’t in cosplay, nor was I in a good position in the crowd to be spotted anyway, unfortunately, so I had no chance. That must have been a really awesome experience for those who did get picked though!
That about wrapped up the panel. I’m not sure what would have happened had it started on time and had the full almost one hour time slot. I imagine in that case, there might have been time set aside for audience Q&A. But with it being shortened to only about a half hour, there was no time left for that. Nevertheless, it was a fun panel, and I’m looking forward to seeing the movie when it’s out!
Zombieland: Double Tap will be in theaters on October 18, 2019.
You can view more of our photos from the Zombieland: Double Tap panel at LA Comic Con 2019 in the photo gallery below.
