Dave Bautista is joining Zack Snyder’s zombie movie “Army of the Dead” at Netflix.
Snyder, whose most recent credits are “Justice League,” “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and “Man of Steel,” made his directorial debut 15 years ago with “Dawn of the Dead.”
Shay Hatten and Snyder are writing the screenplay from Snyder’s story. “Army of the Dead” is set following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, when a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.
Snyder is producing the pic with his spouse Deborah Snyder through their Stone Quarry production company along with Wesley Coller. Principal photography is set to begin later this year.
Snyder’s “Dawn of the Dead” was a remake of George A. Romero’s 1978 movie, and starred Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, and Mekhi Phifer. It grossed $102 million worldwide on a $25 million budget. That led to Snyder and Joby Harold writing a sequel for “Dawn of the Dead,” which was set up at Warner Bros., but ultimately scrubbed in 2012. “Army of the Dead” is not a sequel to “Dawn of the Dead.”
Bautista will reprise his Drax role in “Avengers: Endgame,” which opens April 26. He stars in the Fox comedy “Stuber,” which launches July 12, and STX’s comedy “My Spy,” which debuted its trailer this week. He’s also in production on “Dune.”
Bautista is repped by CAA, Meisner Entertainment Group and attorney Jay Rosenthal at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.