Army of the Dead (franchise)

Army of the Dead
Official franchise logo
Based on	The Living Dead franchise by George A. Romero John A. Russo
Distributed by	Universal Pictures (2004) Netflix (2021–present)
Release date	2004–present
Country	United States
Language	English

The Army of the Dead franchise consists of American zombie-action horror installments, which serve as spiritual sequels to the 2004 re-imagining of Dawn of the Dead (1978).^[1] The franchise consists of a streaming release film that was also released in theaters for a limited time, and a spin-off prequel film, with future installments in various degrees of development.

The original film, entitled Army of the Dead, was stuck in development hell for a number of years until Netflix acquired the distribution rights from Universal and Warner Bros. Pictures; the film was released in May 2021.^[2] Though it was met with mixed critical reception, the movie succeeded as one of the most popular films of all time from Netflix, with an estimated 75 million homes streaming the movie.^[3] A spin-off prequel film, titled Army of Thieves, was released later that year in October.

The franchise will continue with a prequel anime-styled television series titled Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas is currently in production and is intended for exclusive release on Netflix, as well as a sequel feature film titled Planet of the Dead currently in development.

Producer Eric Newman originally conceived plans to remake George A. Romero's 1978 cult horror film Dawn of the Dead.^[4] A fan of the original film, Newman asked Strike Entertainment's Marc Abraham to produce the remake with him. Abraham agreed, and the two secured the rights to the film from Richard P. Rubinstein, the original's producer.^[4] Rubinstein finally agreed to grant the rights after several years because he was worried "that somewhere along the way a studio would sanitize Newman's vision for producing a version with 'attitude'", as Romero's film was independently produced. In addition, the producer was impressed by Abraham's "long track record in keeping the creative integrity of the studio distributed films he has produced intact".^[4]

Newman and Abraham said that the new Dawn of the Dead is more of a "re-envisioning" of Romero's film geared toward younger audiences who had not seen the original. Newman stated that the production's goal is "to make the old fans happy and make a lot of new fans. Because that's the only reason we are doing it." He cited his favorite classic horror films Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Thing (1982), and The Fly (1986) as cinematic influences, explaining that these had "some amazing updates" which "add to rather than diminish the original films".^[4] In search of a screenwriter, Rubinstein hired James Gunn, an avid fan of the original, who began writing a draft. Michael Tolkin and Scott Frank did some uncredited work on Gunn's script. Rubinstein stated that Tolkin further developed the characters while Frank provided some of the bigger, upbeat action scenes.^[5] This was director Zack Snyder's directorial debut, and he storyboarded the film.

In June 2008, after the financial and critical successes of Dawn of the Dead, a sequel was announced to be in development. Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. signed on as director, with a script from Joby Harold, based on an original story by Zack Snyder. The plot centers around a father who is determined to save his daughter from a quarantined and zombie-infested Las Vegas. Snyder described the film as a zombie movie on a larger scale. The project was scheduled to be a co-production between Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures.^[6] The film remained in development hell for a number of years, with Snyder later reporting that the studios involved "didn't want to spend that kind of money on a zombie movie, or just didn't take it that seriously."^[7]

By January 2019, Netflix acquired the distribution rights to the project from Universal and Warner Bros. with Zack Snyder returning as director. The filmmaker also serves as co-screenwriter with Shay Hatten, based on the story treatment previously written by Snyder and Joby Harold.^[8] Snyder stated that Dawn of the Dead is "a zombie movie...all the way with all of [the] tropes of the genre", stating: "I started to think of what were other genres that story didn't have room for." After having a meeting with Scott Stuber, head of original films at Netflix, Stuber signed on to produce the project immediately.^[7] Described as a spiritual successor and standalone sequel to the previous film, Army of the Dead is designed as a franchise launcher.^[9][10][11] The studio liked the concept enough to also green-light a four-hour anime-styled animated prequel television series, as well as a spin-off prequel film.^[7] Army of the Dead commenced principal photography in mid-2019, with a reported budget of $90 million. The film was scheduled to be released on May 21, 2021.^[8][12]

In September 2020, an Army of the Dead spin-off prequel film was announced as being in development. The story involves multiple characters from the first film, with events taking place prior to the events of the previous installment. Matthias Schweighöfer reprised his role from the previous film with the plot centered around his character. In addition to co-starring, he served as director and co-producer. Shay Hatten, who co-wrote the script for the previous movie, returned as screenwriter. Additional producers include Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Wesley Coller, and Dan Maag. The project was a joint-venture production between The Stone Quarry, Pantaleon Films, and Netflix Original Films.^[13]

By December 2020 filming had wrapped with the working title of "Army of the Dead: The Prequel".^[14] By April 2021, it was revealed that the official title of the movie would be Army of Thieves.^[15]

As U.S. military convoy makes its way en route from Area 51 with a transfer of a top secret government-weapon, bioengineered through experimentation with extraterrestrial DNA,^[16] it breaks free and quickly destroys everything in its path. As it attacks the military personnel, it passes on an infection rapidly spreading a disease that overtakes Las Vegas, Nevada. Some time thereafter, the U.S. government quarantines the surrounding area with plans for a tactical nuclear air strike to wipe the outbreak of walking dead from the Earth before it spreads. As the scheduled day draws near, a wealthy owner of a casino on the Strip hires a small group of mercenaries to infiltrate the infestation and pull off a dangerous heist and retrieve all the cash stored in the vault, his establishment, before time runs out. In return the team can keep a percentage of the funds.

As they work together to complete the mission, they discover an evolved-form of zombies. These "alphas" who were directly infected from the original Area 51 experiment are smarter, stronger, faster, and organized. A scene featuring a news article references events which transpired in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.^[17] Jointly the team struggles in a race against the clock to retrieve the money, rescue family members who have been taken hostage by the alpha zombies, and fight off the living dead.^[18]

In September 2020, Netflix announced plans to expand Army of the Dead into various other properties. A prequel film was announced to be in development under the working title of "Army of the Dead: The Prequel". In addition to reprising his role from the previous film, Matthias Schweighöfer served as director. Shay Hatten returns to the franchise as screenwriter, from an original story co-written by Zack Snyder and Hatten. The plot centers around Schweighöfer's character and the earliest days of the zombie outbreak.^[19] Though the movie wouldn't feature many zombies, Deborah Snyder described the film as similar to The Italian Job in a world where zombies exist, while explaining that the film is standalone in nature. The producer officially classified the genre as a romantic-comedy heist film that canonically depicts the early stages of the zombie pandemic portrayed in the previous film; stating: "[it] takes place in a world where these zombies exist in America and it’s causing instability in the banking institutions. They’re moving money around, so it’s the perfect opportunity for a heist." The plot would show how Schweighöfer's character, Ludwig Dieter, learned how to crack safes with previous heist teams.^[20] Schweighöfer acknowledged that while the movie isn't categorically a zombie film, the filmmaker teased that the undead may appear;^[21] while Snyder confirmed that there would be zombies in the film.^[22]

Principal photography took place in Germany and wrapped in December 2020.^[23] In April 2021, the film was officially titled Army of Thieves.^[24] In June 2021 on the first day of the Netflix online event "Geeked Week", Deborah Snyder stated that they were intending the movie be released in the fall.^[25] In July 2021, Snyder shared the first promotional stills from the movie via his social media page, and stated that the film would release "soon".^[26] Later that month, the first teaser poster was released with the caption "coming soon".^[27] The film would feature a time-slotted panel, during the 2021 Comic-Con@Home event.^[28] The first trailer was released during the panel.^[29] Army of Thieves was released on October 29, 2021.^[3]

In May 2021, Zack Snyder stated that he and Shay Hatten had the story for a sequel film planned. The filmmaker elaborated that should the project be green-lit, the plot would include the events teased at the end of Army of the Dead with Omari Hardwick's Vanderohe character becoming the new alpha zombie, and the perilous outbreak that follows when he arrives in Mexico.^[2][30] Snyder confirmed that Easter eggs were purposefully placed for world-building to be included in future installments of the franchise including a potential sequel; some of which include: the fact that Area 51's shipment of Zeus the alpha was being sent to Iran, time loops, robot zombies, as well as undead's abilities to breed. Snyder described the film as "insane".^[31][2] The film was officially confirmed to be in development in July 2021, when the Snyders signed a first-look deal with Netflix. Hatten and Snyder are co-writing the story, while production will begin following completion of Snyder's Rebel Moon film.^[3] In October 2021, the title was officially revealed to be Planet of the Dead. Snyder also revealed that Matthias Schweighöfer's character Ludwig Dieter would factor into the film, despite seemingly dying in the previous installment; while also confirming that a time loop will factor into the plot.^[32][33][34]

In October 2021, Zack Snyder and Matthias Schweighöfer both stated that the team of characters from Army of Thieves will return in the franchise. Snyder announced that there are plans for a sequel to Planet of the Dead, with additional spin-off projects also in development.^[35] Snyder later expressed interest in exploring additional plot for the character Rolph played by Guz Khan, while confirming potential for a prequel/spin-off from Army of Thieves.^[36] In November of the same year, Khan expressed interest in exploring where Rolph and Alexis "Brad Cage" Broschini (portrayed by Stuart Martin) are post-zombie apocalypse in events taking place after Army of the Dead.^[37]

In September 2020, an anime prequel-television series titled Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, was announced to be in development as an exclusive streaming release for Netflix. Zack Snyder was to direct two of the episodes and serve as a co-executive producer on the project, while Jay Oliva was to serve as showrunner and one of the directors for the series. The series was to be a joint-venture production between The Stone Quarry, Stone Quarry Animation, Meduzarts Animation Studios, and Netflix Original Series.^[13][38]

The following month, Deborah Snyder, Wesley Coller, Jay Oliva, and Shay Hatten were named as additional executive producers.^[39] Zack Snyder later stated that production was slated to last until March 2022.^[2] In July 2021, Ana de la Reguera revealed that she had completed recording the lines for her role in the series.^[40] The series was scheduled to be released in the second quarter of 2023.^[3]

In November 2023, Snyder stated that at that point the television series had been cancelled. The filmmaker confirmed however, that much of the work on the series had been completed and that one day it may be released; even if its in its current animatic pre-visualization form. During the same interview, Snyder stated that one scene would have featured the mercenary team stepping through a portal and interacting with intergalactic aliens. Some of these characters appear in the filmmaker's Rebel Moon franchise, which would have created connections between the two separate intellectual properties.^[41] In December of the same year however, the filmmaker revealed that work on the series had once again commenced while stating that the voice-over work of each actor was completed; he expressed hopes that it will be completed.^[42]

A short film, co-developed with Netflix and the Snyders, as a promotional advertisement for Army of the Dead. The short stars Forrest Griffin as a fictionalized version of himself, a police officer who discovers an illegal street fighting ring where people battle zombies. The short was created to add an underground fight club to the franchise, at Zack Snyder's request.^[43]

A prequel short film released as a compilation of the in-universe YouTube videos, following the character Guzman as he hunts zombies. The short was released on June 4, 2021, exclusively on Netflix Film Club's YouTube channel.^[44][45][46]

During a sudden zombie outbreak in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, survivors take refuge in a shopping center. As the plague spreads worldwide, the survivors fight to keep the walking dead out of the mall. As they struggle to maintain the peace, they devise a plan to escape to a safe-zone.^[47]

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• Creating An Army of the Dead: A 30-minute long documentary special on the making of Army of the Dead, which was released simultaneously alongside the film on Netflix. Zack Snyder and the creative team detail the movie's stunts, groundbreaking special effects and the film's intent to evolve the zombie genre. Though other Netflix Original making-of documentaries were eventually released on the streaming company's YouTube page, Creating an Army of the Dead was not and is only viewable in-full exclusively via the streaming service.^[56][57][58]
• How to Make Movies: Snyder School: A documentary-styled miniature web series released by Netflix Film Club on YouTube, where Zack Snyder discusses specific aspects of filmmaking and experiences in creating his movies. Details regarding the making of Army of the Dead are featured throughout the mini-series. The first episode details the making of the film's title sequences; the second details the art of cinematography; the third episode inspects film editing; and the last episode explores worldbuilding, the creation of mythology and lore in a fictional universe.^[59]
• Army of the Dead: A Film by Zack Snyder: The Making of the Film: A behind-the-scenes book, released on June 1, 2021, by Titan Books. There will also be a limited edition with additional content and Snyder's signature.^[60][61][62]

• Army of the Dead: The Vader Cut: A short fan film, released as the third episode of the Netflix Dreams web-series, which premiered at the conclusion of the first day of Netflix "Geeked Week" as a tribute to the franchise. The episode features internet personality King Vader falling asleep while watching Army of the Dead, and dreaming of a zombie apocalypse. Upon awaking, Vader discovers that an undead outbreak has actually occurred while he and a group of friends fight to survive the ensuing events.^[63][64]

• NFT of the Dead: A non-fungible token (NFT) puzzle-based game that ran from May 27–30 of 2021, after which a "Competition is Over" message screen loads.^[65] The object of the game was to pick the four locks of the Götterdämmerung vault, with the reward of a deleted scene from the film given to the winner. In that scene Mikey Guzman plays poker with skeletons.^[66] The scene was later shown in a video about the success of NFT of the Dead released by Agentur XY the ad company Netflix works with.^[67]
• Army of the Dead - Viva Las Vengeance: VR Experience: An immersive event developed in collaboration by Netflix, Pure Imagination Studios, Fever Labs Inc.,^[68] and The Stone Quarry. A touring, innovative, groundbreaking VR experience; the story takes place during the early stages of the zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, wherein players are tasked with saving civilians that have been trapped within the makeshift walls of a zombie-infested city.^{[69][70][71][72]} Ana de la Reguera filmed scenes, reprising her role as Maria Cruz from Army of the Dead.^[73]
• Army of the Dead: A Zombicide Game: In May 2021, it was announced that CMON Limited would release a standalone role-playing adventure board game within their Zombicide series, based on the Army of the Dead feature film. Players assume the roles of characters from the film, each with different abilities, and must work together (through scenes from the film, and events that took place "off-screen") to make it out alive and receive their payout.^[74][75] The board game release on July 19, 2024.^[76]

Dawn of the Dead: Official Motion Picture Soundtrack

An official soundtrack album of the film which was released by Milan Records in 2012, eight years after the movie's debut. Credited as the career-making moment for Bates, the physical album is considered a collector's item, while the score received praise from music critics. The album received digital, vinyl, and audio compact disc (CD) releases.^[77][78]

Army of the Dead: Music from the Netflix Film

The soundtrack composed by Thomas Holkenborg, which received critical acclaim from music critics, was released digitally in collaboration between Netflix and Milan Records in May 2021.^[79] A physical release from Netflix, Milan Records, and Waxwork Records on vinyl released in late-2021.^[80]

Army of Thieves: Soundtrack from the Netflix Film

The soundtrack was composed by Hans Zimmer & Steve Mazzaro, and was released digitally by Milan Records in November 2021.^[81]