Shaun of the Dead to be re-released for 20th anniversary

The popular comedy that is seen as the definitive satirical take on the zombie genre celebrates 20 bloody years with limited Dolby screenings this August.

Prepare to get red on yourself again. Shaun of the Dead, the Edgar Wright horror-comedy that propelled him, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost into international stardom, is celebrating 20 bloody years of laughs and zombie mayhem. Deadline has reported that Focus Features will be commemorating the anniversary with a re-release screening in theaters this summer for U.S. audiences. Shaun of the Dead is set to show at Dolby Cinemas in AMC theaters for a special limited screening engagement starting on August 29.

Shaun of the Dead has the following synopsis: Shaun is a 30-something loser with a dull, easy existence. When he’s not working at the electronics store, he lives with his slovenly best friend, Ed, in a small flat on the outskirts of London. The only unpredictable element in his life is his girlfriend, Liz, who wishes desperately for Shaun to grow up and be a man. When the town is inexplicably overrun with zombies, Shaun must rise to the occasion and protect both Liz and his mother.

Director Edgar Wright looks back at the 20 years of his film and states, “Twenty years ago, the worldwide release of Shaun of the Dead changed my life forever. Its reception since then has continued to be incredible, largely due to the passionate fans who have championed it with cricket bats aloft. Now, as we celebrate its bloody 20th anniversary with a brand-new Dolby Atmos and Vision remastered version, I’m beyond excited for everyone to experience it once again on the big screen—the way it was always meant to be seen: large, loud, and with quite a lot of red on it.”

Focus Features has also released a new trailer and poster to celebrate the occasion. The studio has also set up a special Shaun of the Dead anniversary pop-up at Comic-Con to take place today. Simon Pegg is adamant that he and Wright will not be rebooting or making a sequel to the popular comedy, but he will always be interested in collaborating on more projects with him, “There’s something always in the works with Edgar and I. Since Shaun of the Dead, our lives have changed dramatically. We’re both busy into the distant future. The biggest challenge that we have right now is finding a moment to get together and spend six, seven weeks, to get our first draft out and come up with the idea. But we’re constantly looking for that. […] We just need the time to do it. So it really is a question of when, not if.“

About the Author

E.J. is a News Editor at JoBlo, as well as a Video Editor, Writer, and Narrator for some of the movie retrospectives on our JoBlo Originals YouTube channel, including Reel Action, Revisited and some of the Top 10 lists. He is a graduate of the film program at Missouri Western State University with concentrations in performance, writing, editing and directing.