Hollywood taking a second stab at a Dead Island movie

Dead Island publisher Deep Silver is trying a second time to make a movie based on its zombie franchise happen. After a 2011 deal with Lionsgate expired, Deep Silver has found a new partner in Occupant Entertainment, hoping that this time Dead Island will actually make it to the big screen.

The film will reportedly be based on either the first or second game, or "something in between." Or it may simply be based on Dead Island's famous pre-rendered trailers, based on the following quote.

"Deep Silver has created a highly successful game franchise based on very cinematic, widely viewed and well received trailers, which provide a great template for launching a film franchise with a distinctive and commercial take on the zombie apocalypse," said Occupant Entertainment's Joe Neurauter and Felipe Marino.

The focus on the original Dead Island's moody trailer — not so much the game — was similarly echoed by Lionsgate back in 2011, when it nabbed rights to the property.

"Like the hundreds of journalists and millions of fans who were so passionate and vocal about the Dead Island trailer, we too were awestruck," former Lionsgate president Joe Drake said at the time. "This is exactly the type of property we're looking to adapt at Lionsgate: it's sophisticated, edgy, and a true elevation of a genre that we know and love. It also has built in brand recognition around the world, and franchise potential."

Occupant says it's looking for a director to kick off the project in 2015. It's giving them an "open canvas" on which to work.

Deep Silver currently has three Dead Island video games in development: Dead Island 2, Escape Dead Island and Dead Island: Epidemic.