Warm Bodies-R's Name

“I have publicly vowed to never tell anyone what R’s name is. The reason being one, I think that’s not really the point of the novel, and to reveal it just explicitly, just saying it would be extremely anticlimactic. There’s no name that I could choose that would be satisfying in the way you’re looking for.” -Isaac Marion, Author of Warm Bodies

That being said, if you don’t want to potentially exhume R’s name, turn back now. There’s a certain thrill to not knowing, which cannot be brought back to life once dead. 

And obviously, potential minor spoiler warning for the books, if you haven't read them.

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If you’ve watched or read Warm Bodies you’ve probably noticed the Romeo and Juliet themes showcased throughout the story. The balcony scene is the most obvious testament to this, and the moment when most people realize Julie’s name is a modern version of Juliet’s and believe R’s could stand for Romeo. 

R’s name is not Romeo. Isaac Marion confirmed this in a video he posted on March 12th, 2024;

“And no, it’s not Romeo. I know that is sort of the obvious undercurrent of the first book slash movie, and of course that is intentional, it is meant to be the reference, but that’s not actually the name.”

All the main characters within the novel are based off of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Julie is Juliet, Marcus is Mercutio, Nora is the Nurse, Perry is Count Paris, so on and so forth. Each has a modern version of their names. 

Isaac has stated that “It is not just some random name. Many people who guess at this are just picking names that start with an R. It’s not just some guy.” 

It would be safe to assume R’s name is most likely a version of Romeo as well. For a moment let’s just pull at random names despite what Isaac said, since it’s important in a second. The most frequently mentioned names similar to Romeo that start with R are Roman, Ronan, Rowan, and Romero.

Out of those four, one of them might stick out if you’re a big zombie fan. Additionally, Isaac’s wording, “it’s not just some guy,” stands out to me. It makes me believe he was talking about a person. Someone he’s based R’s name off of.

And who better than the writer and director of The Night of The Living Dead, George A. Romero?

Isaac has already showcased his usage of names from external sources, and not only is Night of the Living Dead a zombie movie he may have taken inspiration from while writing the novels, there’s more to support this theory within the text itself. 

“I would say you would never actually guess his name from the first book alone. Most of the clues to this are scattered throughout The Burning World and The Living. In particular The Living. That is where the deadest giveaways are.”

Many of the people guessing have only read the first book of the series or watched the movie. It’s rare to see anyone comment the name Romero, but a few people have publicly. Two, to be precise, at the time I'm writing this. Which lines up with Isaac’s statement; “There are I believe three people who figured it out and told me the correct answer.” 

While I can’t account for anyone who has directly messaged him inquiring R’s name, publicly across his platforms before that video was posted the name Romero checks out.

And for the icing on top, those clues within the text mentioned earlier: R’s parents loved Night of the Living dead. 

R’s full name is most likely Romero, named after the director of Night of the Living dead, George A. Romero.