 In June 2006 , Paramount Studios secured the film rights for World War Z for Brad Pitt 's production company , Plan B Entertainment , to produce . The screenplay was written by J. Michael <unk> , with Marc Forster directing and Pitt starring as the main character , UN employee Gerry Lane . Despite being the draft that got the film green @-@ lit , <unk> 's script was tossed aside , so that production , which was to begin at the start of 2009 , was delayed while the script was completely re @-@ written by Matthew Michael <unk> to set the film in the present , leaving behind much of the book 's premise to make it more of an action film . In a 2012 interview , Brooks claimed the film now had nothing in common with the novel other than the title . Filming commenced mid @-@ 2011 , and the film was released in June 2013 . 
