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After the films initial success, the two creators split in disagreement regarding where the series should go and a contract was drawn up. Any future Romero films would lose the "Living" prefix and simply be referred to as ''Dead'' movies and Russo, who wanted to branch the series off into literary territory, would retain the rights to "Living Dead" (though fans nevertheless refer to Romero's as ''Living Dead'' films), so thus both series would be considered canon and each would be able to do what they liked with the continuity of the projects. ROMERO'S ''DEAD'' SERIES
Labeled a trilogy until ''Land of the Dead'', this is considered by most fans as the one true series. Each film is laden with social commentary ranging from racism to consumerism. The films are not produced as direct follow-ups from one another. The films' only continuation is the epidemic of the living dead, the situation advancing with each film, but with different characters and even moving the time ahead from the last to the time in which they were filmed despite the world's progression being the only interlocking aspect of the series. They are different stories telling how different people react to the same phenomonen ranging from citizens to cops to army officials and back again. There are no real happy endings to the films as each takes places in a world that has gotten worse since the last time we saw it, the number of zombies ever increasing and the fate of the small amount of the remaining living always in the balance. RUSSO'S ''LIVING DEAD'' SERIES
In 1998 Russo went back to the original film to reshoot extra sequences into the film. This 30th Anniversary Edition added a subplot, alternate opening, as well as a completely new score. The result is a widely reviled version of the original. It is considered to be incredibly inferior, riddled with needless touch-ups. ''Children of the Living Dead'' was a direct sequel to the ''Night of the Living Dead 30th Anniversary Edition'', as it followed up on scenes that were newly inserted. It was another widely panned effort on the behalf of Russo. Director Tor Ramsey made his frustration filming quite well known, even during post-production when his effort to fix the film was "corrected" by its writer Karen L. Wolf, whom he claims was tyranical over her script, despite little knowledge of the horror genre. It is these two efforts that leave many fans to criticize Russo with claims of ill-attempts to reclaim what he lost after the original ''Night of the Living Dead''. Only '' Return Of The Living Dead '', based on the novel Russo wrote, gained popularity, spawning four sequels. These films (with the exception of the third film) differ in that they are not serious and employ silly humour, as well as using different zombie "rules." ''DEAD'' SERIES REMAKES
The remake series does not, production wise, follow on from each other. All are made by different people and have no real link between them but the stories match as much as Romero's originals do. The first in 1990 was produced for two reasons: one a rival company was planning a remake which Romero did not want to see happen without his involvement and as a way of the original creators to finally get some money back from the name ''Night of the Living Dead''. The film saw another team-up with Tom Savini and Romero, though not in the same roles, as Savini directed the film based on a script by Romero. Fans have mixed feelings of the remake, though most are fairly positive. The ''Dawn of the Dead'' remake also received mixed criticims, though more being negative, especially over the altering of the "rules" by having the zombies running rather than the standard slow lumbering. A remake of ''Day of the Dead'' is expected to be released in 2007 and directed by Steve Miner . Little is known about the remake, but many fans have expressed hope that the film is based on Romero's original script for his 1985 film. UNAUTHORIZED SEQUELS There are also some other films that have been produced to "leach" off the success of the originals that have slipped through the official net because of various mix-ups with the copyright and ownership of the movies, Romero himself owns only ''Dawn of the Dead'' from his four films. These include:
''DEAD'' BOOKS/GRAPHIC NOVELS There have also been a number of publications and documentaries, both authorized and unauthorized, that have appeared over the years. Some claim to take place in the universe that Romero established in his four ''Dead'' films; others don't make this claim but nevertheless follow his "rules" (dead eat living flesh, can only be destroyed if you stop their brain, etc.). These include:
DOCUMENTARIES
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