The first half of 2021 was eventful for Zack Snyder, because in addition to his definitive vision for Justice League being released on HBO Max, his first Netflix feature, Army of the Dead, was delivered to the masses. The zombie heist movie ended being a huge hit for the streaming service, and while we’ve known for a while that Army of the Dead is turning into a franchise thanks to two prequel tales, there’s also been talk about making a sequel to that first movie. Now it looks like Snyder is indeed moving forward with Army of the Dead 2.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Zack Snyder and Netflix would be staying in business together, with the former directing a sci-fi movie called Rebel Moon for the latter. Today brings word that Rebel Moon is part of a first-look deal that The Stone Quarry, the production company run by Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller, has signed with Netflix. In its writeup about the two-year deal, THR mentions that as part of this arrangement, Snyder’s developing Army of the Dead 2 with Shay Hatten, the first movie’s co-writer. The plan is for him to work on the sequel after he’s done with Rebel Moon.
Given the way Army of the Dead ended, it would be easy enough to leave things there and simply show what some of its starring characters were up to years earlier in separate projects. However, just several days after Army of the Dead hit Netflix, Omari Hardwick, who played Vanderohe, said there’d been some conversations about continuing his character’s journey. I won’t share any spoilers for those who haven’t watched Army of the Dead, but suffice it to say that Vanderhoe is definitely the most logical candidate for a sequel to focus on.
Because Zack Snyder is busy breathing life into Rebel Moon, which is slated to begin production in early 2022, presumably we’re a long ways off from Army of the Dead 2’s arrival. Nevertheless, if you enjoyed the story of a team of mercenaries entering Las Vegas to procure millions of dollars from a casino vault and fighting hordes of zombies along the way, now you can look forward to this saga eventually progressing forward rather than simply looking backward.
That being said, Army of the Dead’s two prequel projects will certainly flesh out the mythology of this zombie-infested world Zack Snyder created. The first will be Army of Thieves, a live-action movie centered on Matthias Schweighöfer’s safecracking character Ludwig Dieter, who’s hired by a mysterious woman to pull off a heist with a misfit crew of aspiring thieves in the early days of the zombie outbreak. We’re also getting Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, an anime-style series that will show what Dave Bautista, Ana de la Reguera, Ella Purnell, Tig Notaro and Omari Hardwick’s characters were up to when zombies were first unleashed upon the world.
If you’ve made it this far and are among the people who haven’t watched Army of the Dead yet, it’s streaming on Netflix now. Stay tuned for any major news concerning how the sequel is coming along, but for now, find out what Netflix is releasing in August with our detailed guide.
