Zack Snyder Netflix 'Army Of The Dead' Expanding Into Film Prequel & Anime Series

Zack Snyder’s new zombie action heist film Army of the Dead is already spawning a film prequel and anime series at Netflix. Shay Hatten, one of the writers of the screenplay for Army of the Dead, will write the prequel as well as the anime series.

Quote from Zack Snyder: “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. It’s been a great collaboration and we are thrilled that Netflix sees this as big of an IP as we do.”

The prequel will be directed by and star Grimme Award winner Matthias Schweighöfer and will follow his Army of the Dead character “Ludwig Dieter”. The movie will be produced out of Germany. The film will be produced by Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder and Wesley Coller of The Stone Quarry and Matthias Schweighöfer and Dan Maag of PANTALEON Films.

“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", says Matthias Schweighöfer.

The anime series, Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, chronicles the origin story of Scott (Dave Bautista) and his rescue crew during the initial fall of Vegas as they confront the mysterious source of the zombie outbreak. Zack Snyder will direct 2 episodes of the anime series. Jay Oliva (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and upcoming Netflix Original Anime Series Trese) will be showrunning as well as directing 2 episodes of the series. The series will be Executive Produced by Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Wesley Coller from The Stone Quarry alongside Jay Olivia and Shay Hatten. Bautista, Ana de la Reguera, Tig Notaro, Omari Hardwick and Ella Purnell will reprise their roles in the anime series.

Snyder’s Army of the Dead features an all-star international cast including 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, Samantha Win and is 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, Nevada who try to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.

Image: Matthias Schweighöfer as Dieter and Zack Snyder (right)