Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” world is getting a lot bigger, with an untitled film prequel and an anime series in development at Netflix.
“I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to partner with Netflix again as we expand the ‘Army of the Dead’ universe with both an international prequel, as well as exploring the visually dynamic world of animation,” Snyder said in a statement Thursday. “It’s been a great collaboration and we are thrilled that Netflix sees this as big of an IP as we do.”
Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” stars Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana De La Reguera, Theo Rossi, Huma Qureshi, Omari Hardwick, Tig Notaro, Hiroyuki Sanada, Garret Dillahunt, Matthias Schweighöfer, Raúl Castillo, Nora Arnezeder and Samantha Win. It’s produced by The Stone Quarry’s Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder and Wesley Coller. The film will be released on Netflix in 2021 and follows a group of mercenaries into a zombie-infested Las Vegas as they try to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.
Shay Hatten, one of the writers of the screenplay for “Army of the Dead,” will write the prequel as well as the anime series.
The prequel will be directed by and star Schweighöfer and will follow his Ludwig Dieter character from “Army of the Dead.” The film will be produced by the Snyders and Coller of The Stone Quarry along with Schweighöfer and Dan Maag of Pantaleon Films.
Schweighöfer said, “It has already been a great pleasure to be part of this wonderful ensemble around Zack Synder — a fascinating project. I am happy that it is now being developed on so many different levels.”
The anime series, “Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas,” will chronicle the origin story of Bautista’s character and his rescue crew during the initial fall of Vegas as they confront the mysterious source of the zombie outbreak. Zack Snyder will direct two episodes of the series.
Jay Oliva (“Batman: The Dark Knight Returns”) will be showrunning as well as directing two episodes of the series. The series will be executive produced by the Snyders and Coller from The Stone Quarry alongside Olivia and Hatten. Bautista, De la Reguera, Notaro, Hardwick and Purnell will reprise their roles in the anime.