Living Dead Media CEO Steve Wolsh, who will direct from his own screenplay, calls this “a brand new adventure” that he’s envisioning as an extension of the franchise’s legacy.

A still from a teaser announcing the launch of a new ‘Return of the Living Dead’ film. Courtesy of Living Dead Media

The living dead are ready to make a big return next year.

Living Dead Media has revealed that a new Return of the Living Dead film is due in 2025, a year that marks the milestone 40th anniversary of the 1985 horror cult classic. In doing so, the company and its CEO Steve Wolsh have confirmed details about the project and teased it with a holiday-themed trailer. The clip, which dropped today, not coincidentally on Friday the 13th, features the franchise’s spooky Tarman emerging in a snow covered cemetery dragging a Christmas tree across the landscape as a rendition of “Silent Night” helps set the mood. The teaser does its job by announcing a Christmas 2025 planned releases.

Per a press release obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Living Dead Media confirms that the project won’t be a reboot of the original but a new installment in the beloved horror-comedy franchise. It’s set in a small Pennsylvania town in Christmas 1985, 18 months after the events of the original film, which was directed by Dan O’Bannon. That film followed the unfortunate events that ensued after two bumbling employees at the Uneeda Medical Supply warehouse accidentally released a deadly gas into the air, which led the dead to rise as zombies, infecting the entire town and inadvertently sealing its fate.

Wolsh, who will direct from his own screenplay, calls this “a brand new adventure” that he’s envisioning as an extension of the franchise’s legacy. As for the teaser, the release states that it was produced with practical effects on location without CGI or use of a greenscreen. The cemetery was designed to pay homage to Resurrection Cemetery from the original. “Utilizing our widescreen anamorphic lenses, we captured the practical snow effects swirling against the night sky that gives it an amazing look and texture, it’s going to blow people away seeing an entire film made like this,” says Wolsh, a diehard fan and steward of the zombie-filled world.

The franchise already includes five films: the 1985 installment, followed by sequels 1988’s Return of the Living Dead II from Ken Wiederhorn, 1993’s Return of the Living Dead III from Brian Yuzna, 2005’s Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis from Ellory Elkayem and 2005’s Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave, also directed by Elkayem. Tom Fox produced or executive produced all of the aforementioned titles. His son, Christopher W. Fox, will executive produce the new installment.

Other details the team confirmed: Special effects veteran Tony Gardner (Zombieland, Hocus Pocus 2, Chucky) has been tapped to establish the zombie look for 2025’s Return of the Living Dead. “[To be able to] up the horror, but be true to its roots, I feel like I’m the perfect person for the job,” he said in a statement. “And I’m really excited.”

Other details on the creative team and production schedule are expected to be announced in coming months.

A still from a teaser announcing the launch of a new Return of the Living Dead film, which has a website and an official Instagram. Courtesy of Living Dead Media