When I try to picture World War Z through the lens of a camera, I still think it would be best adapted as an HBO mini-series like Band of Brothers. It has an episodic feel to it, highlighting the aftermath of a war between humans and zombies and some of the horrific events that transpired during it.

With Paramount now in-production on their full-length feature with Marc Forster at the helm, it was uncertain how they could cram all those vignettes into one flick and keep audiences invested in characters they would only meet for minutes at a time (unless they planned on making a four-hour movie). The studio just released an official plot summary, which details a far removed interpretation of Max Brooks beloved novel.

The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself. Enos plays Gerry’s wife Karen Lane; Kertesz is his comrade in arms, Segen.

This is a little more straight forward and easily digestible for general audiences, but it’s kind of a pointless move considering they’re releasing it against a Johnny Depp flick and a week after The Hobbit, both of which have a better chance of winning big at the box office – there’s no way that date is going to stick unless Paramount doesn’t care about recouping their money. Since it now takes place during war, rather than afterwards, it doesn’t even seem like much of adaptation. Still, this could end up being a compelling tale, just not the one we were expecting.

World War Z opens on December 21, 2012.