The man who created the modern perception of zombies will now bring the undead to the small screen. Variety reports that George A. Romero, director of Night of the Living Dead — the film which redefined the idea of a zombie apocalypse — will write a new TV series based on his Marvel Comic Empire of the Dead. Demarest Films made the announcement at the Cannes Film Festival today, so this project is in the very early stages and doesn't have a network home yet.

Here's the official synopsis of Empire of the Dead's first issue:

Welcome to New York City years after the undead plague has erupted—but just because Manhattan has been quarantined, don’t think that everyone inside is safe! Not only do flesh-eaters roam within Manhattan, but there’s another ancient predator about to take a bite out of the Big Apple!

That other ancient predator they mention? Vampires. The combination of vampires and zombies should be enough to separate this from both The Walking Dead and The Strain, and the idea that the father of the zombie genre himself is writing it (alongside his partner Peter Grunwald) will obviously be a big draw for fans. That's all the information that's out there about this project at the moment, but we'll be sure to keep you up to date.