The Rise of the Dead

The Rise of the Dead is a short film directed by Jack Hillebrecht set in the Rise of the Dead Universe. It is the third installment in the series as well as the final installment of the original trilogy, as well as a sequel to 2013's Rise of the Dead 2: Apocalypse as well as a soft reboot of the franchise. The film was released on May 23, 2019. Unlike the previous two installments, Ryan Woods was not involved in the production and the script was written solely by Hillebrecht. The film focusses on two new characters, but the original trio make cameo appearances to varying extents.

Cast

 * Annika Helgeson as Annika
 * Alyssa Lightner as Alyssa
 * John Manfredonia as John
 * Ryan Woods as Ryan
 * Allie Blanchard
 * Evelyn Zeng
 * Lindsey Hillebrecht
 * Natalie Hillebrecht
 * Additionally, Jack Hillebrecht reprises his role through the use of archival footage and a brief vocal cameo.

Production
The film went through a number of heavily publicized delays before finally being released in 2019. Development on a third Rise of the Dead project began as early as Spring 2013, when a trilogy of Rise of the Dead films was given the green light. Rise of the Dead 3: Endgame was officially announced with a Summer 2014 release date. Due to production taking longer than expected, the Endgame was delayed to Summer 2015. However, in October of 2014 Ryan announced his departure from JTH Studios and the decision was made to cancel the film and reboot the franchise without his involvement. The film was given an October 2015 release date, when it was announced in January 2015 as a soft reboot. A greenlight announcement was made in October 2015, delaying the film to October 20, 2016 and reimagining the film as a complete reimagining of the franchise. In June 2016, the script was announced as complete (now as a direct sequel to RotD 2: Apocalypse) but delayed indefinitely. In June 2017, an update was given to the film that said that the script had fallen through but it was possible that a film could be released in 2018. In late 2017, a new script was written but the film was ultimately completely cancelled, leaving the franchise unfinished. On January 1, 2019, it was hinted at that a new short set in the Rise of the Dead Universe was in development and it was officially announced on March 5, 2019 with a release date of May 23, 2019.

Plot
Six years after civilization fell to the zombie apocalypse, a teenage recluse has her lonely existence upended by the arrival of a mysterious stranger.

Six years have passed since Jack, Ryan, and John recovered the zombie antidote. The safe house they once hid out in is now inhabited by Annika, who has lived there in solitude for years. Annika lives off of honey, as the food that never expires. On May 23, 2019, a mortally wounded John returns to the house. He has been separated from Jack and Ryan for years, and has wandered alone with the zombie antidote. He gives the antidote to Annika to protect and he dies. After Annika buries John, she is attacked by a zombie named Alyssa. Alyssa bites Annika, and it is revealed that the thoughts of a zombie and victim are temporarily linked, and the two form a connection. Annika realizes that because Alyssa is still sentient, she killed intelligent beings when she fought off zombies. A hallucinated Alyssa soothes Annika's guilt and pleads with her to take the zombie antidote to cure her bite. Despite feeling unworthy to be the only person that will be saved by the antidote, she agrees to take the antidote. As she returns to take it, she witnesses Alyssa eating from her honey, and realizes that zombies can also survive off of honey. After realizing that Alyssa still has friends out there she can help (namely Ryan), and that Alyssa can share the knowledge that honey can be used to feed zombies, she sacrifices herself to cure her new friend. The next day, the cured Alyssa honors Annika and is confronted by Ryan, now a zombie. Alyssa offers Annika's container of honey to the zombie, hinting that perhaps zombies and humans can learn to live in peace.

Future
Despite being marketed as the finale to a series originally intended to continue for dozens of films, a strong positive reception to The Rise of the Dead left some viewers asking for more. The film's standalone nature made it unclear that it was the finale to the series. Hillebrecht initially confirmed that this was the end of the series, but in February 2020 it was announced that the series would continue via spinoff short films separate from the trilogy that ended in 2019. The first of these spinoff films is set for release in April 2020, less than a year after the series' initial ending.

Trivia

 * The project has been in development since September 2014 began development as soon as Rise of the Dead 3: Endgame was scrapped.
 * A treatment for a soft reboot was in fact written, as the film was announced as such. It would be a new series set several years after the original Rise of the Dead films involving Jack and John losing their memories. However, with the writers dissatisfied with the way the film was being handled, scrapped and a new film that would instead be a complete re-imagining was put into production. That also fell through and a sequel was written.
 * Several titles for the film as a hard reboot were have been considered. Two titles that were narrowed down to Rise of the Undead and Rise of the Dead: Descent into Darkness. Fans were told to vote in the comments, and the title will be determined based off fan response. However, both titles were scrapped.
 * A reboot of the Rise of the Dead franchise was in very early stages of production before the premature cancellation of the Endgame and the respective spinoffs associated with it were even considered. The franchise was originally supposed to have gone on for years, due to the fact that at the time it took only three months for a Rise of the Dead film to go from script to screen. The franchise would have taken a year off once the entire extended story, which involved the three main heroes of the series facing off against new enemies such as robots, aliens, and evil cults, and eventually more zombies, was completed, before a reboot of the franchise would have come out. This reboot was tentatively titled "Zombie Quest" and would be a darker and more serious approach starring Ryan and Jack.
 * It was believed that Ryan would not be involved in the final installment due to his departure from JTH Studios in 2014, one of the main reasons that Rise of the Dead 3: Endgame was cancelled and the franchise was rebooted in the first place. However, a cameo was arranged at the last minute to surprise the audience and give his character closure. Ryan was completely absent from the film's marketing to preserve the surprise.