Devastating news from The Playlist who is reporting that Paramount Pictures, just last night, pulled the plug on the long-gestating World War Z sequel that had been in development under the direction of David Fincher.

The site asserts that budget, as is usually the case, was definitely an issue, but only to a degree. Fincher and his team were proposing something less than the budget of the original. The site believes it’s not entirely coincidental that Paramount, that makes far fewer films than the average studio, just allotted a lot of money for two significant blockbusters—Mission Impossible 7 & 8 that will arrive in the summer of 2021 and 2022, and just landed official release dates.

World War Z 2 had been staffing up for a lengthy shoot this year in five different countries and a six-month shoot in Atlanta, but the film simply never received its green light, and none of these hires were officially made.

Added the site: star Brad Pitt is apparently not a happy camper with the studio right now. The site notes that World War Z is now six years old and given that Pitt held out for years, waiting for Fincher’s schedule to clear and Paramount to greenlight the movie, it’s not inconceivable to think the project is now dead for good, though who knows what Paramount will ultimately do.

Watch this spot.