Zack Snyder is many things as a filmmaker. Chief amongst them? The man is ambitious. While the results of those ambitions are often divisive, nobody can deny that Snyder tends to swing for the fences. He didn’t just pitch a “Superman” film to Warner Bros. and DC, he pitched a full-on, wild take on the franchise. It didn’t exactly pan out but he had big plans. Similarly, in the aftermath of the mess that was “Justice League,” Snyder went to Netflix to make the zombie heist flick “Army of the Dead.” It was meant to be the start of a big franchise, with sequels, spin-offs, and more to follow. Now, it looks like the franchise is pretty much dead in the water.
This tidbit comes from a recent profile piece for The Wrap, which focuses on how Zack Snyder and his producing partner, as well as his wife, Deborah Snyder pulled together his R-rated director’s cuts of “Rebel Moon” (which recently debuted on Netflix). In the piece, the “Army of the Dead” franchise was also addressed and, save for one very small project, it’s seemingly been all but killed off by the streamer.
Indeed, an animated spin-off series titled “Lost Vegas,” which was pretty far along in the development process, was quietly canceled by Netflix already. The report also notes that “plans for subsequent films” have also been scrapped. “We are very ambitious with everything,” Snyder said, acknowledging the vast scope of what he had in mind for this universe.
It appears all that’s left for the franchise that was “Army of the Dead” is a themed experience coming to the Six Flags theme parks this Halloween season. “It’s going to be a really cool experience,” Deborah Snyder said of the theme park attraction. To call this an unceremonious end to the enterprise would be a bit of an understatement.
Where does Zack Snyder go from here?
“Army of the Dead” arrived in 2021 with an A-list cast led by Dave Bautista (“Guardians of the Galaxy”). It was Snyder’s return to the zombie genre following his breakout 2004 remake of “Dawn of the Dead.” The film picks up in the aftermath of a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas and follows a group of mercenaries who venture into the quarantine zone to attempt to pull off an incredibly risky heist.
In October 2021, as the prequel “Army of Thieves” was hitting Netflix, Snyder confirmed that the title for the sequel would be “Planet of the Dead.” That carried with it major implications, suggesting that the zombie outbreak would go global in the follow-up. The filmmaker then found himself very busy with his equally ambitious “Rebel Moon” franchise, and that put his “Dead” universe on the backburner. In the meantime, Netflix has done a lot of reshuffling and seems to believe that a further expansion of this universe isn’t worth the investment.
This all begs the question of what comes next for Snyder. The filmmaker signed a two-year first look deal with Netflix in 2021, but that has expired and there has been no indication that the contract was extended. It’s also worth noting that “Rebel Moon” was met with dismal reviews from critics and audiences alike, meaning that it’s highly unlikely that Netflix will want to continue on with that franchise either.
That means Snyder is going to be something of a free agent, which should be interesting. He’s currently in talks to executive produce and direct a “300” prequel series for Warner Bros., which is surprising after the messiness of “Justice League.” Are other studios going to line up to give him a big budget to work with? Are other streamers going to bet big on him at a time when most of those companies are cutting back on spending? We’ll have to see where the chips fall.
“Rebel Moon,” in all of its forms, is currently streaming on Netflix.
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