Artist Matt Talbot reimagines Shaun of the Dead's survival-plan scene in the style of a classic Archie Comics-inspired comic book cover. Released in 2004, Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead took a typical structure of a romantic comedy and threw the situation into the apocalyptic chaos of a zombie outbreak. Simon Pegg portrays the unmotivated slacker and pub regular Shaun, who is urged to rethink his life after his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), breaks up with him.
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Unfortunately, the United Kingdom is suddenly plagued by the undead the following day, forcing Shaun and best friend Ed (Nick Frost) to step up, take charge, and rescue Liz, her friends David (Dylan Moran) and Dianne (Lucy Davis), and Shaun's mother, Barbara (Penelope Wilton). While Wright was told the film may flop by an extra during production, the film quickly earned a place in audiences' hearts, gathering a cult following that remains strong even after almost 18 years since its release. And one artist has now given one of its most beloved moments a comic-book-inspired reimagining.
Shared by LA-based art gallery Gallery 1988 on their Instagram account, Talbot's "Shaun's Pals n' Gals" styles the classic horror-comedy in the aesthetics of Archie Comics artwork. The cover focuses on the scene in which Shaun and Ed plan to take their band of survivors to their local pub, The Winchester, and wait there for things to blow over. The artwork recreates the two friends making their survival plan, with the image of the group in the Winchester featuring in Shaun's thought bubble. Check out the artwork below.
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Despite the film's success, Wright won't make Shaun of the Dead 2, revealing in an October 2021 interview that he has no intentions of returning to Shaun's story. He explained that he feels he has no reason to revisit the film, or the horror-comedy genre as a whole, as the original allowed him to say all he wanted to. Pegg has similarly cast doubt on a sequel ever being produced, stating in a July 2022 interview that where the first movie ends doesn't leave much room to tell follow-up stories. With both Wright and Pegg expressing their disinterest in creating a Shaun of the Dead sequel, it is clear the story of Shaun, Ed, and Liz is concluded.
Shaun of the Dead's planning scene is one of the film's most referenced moments, with Pegg and Frost creating a lockdown PSA parody of the sequence to promote awareness and social distancing during the height of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The scene's quick pacing, witty humor, and ever-shifting planning created a scene that remains with audiences, as Shaun's declaration of "Head to the Winchester, and wait for all of this to blow over" became an often-recited line among viewers who find themselves in tough situations. As such, Talbot's bright, unique reimagining allows fans to revisit the scene in a surprisingly perfect combination of styles.