Spoilers follow for Army of the Dead.
Army of the Dead is Zack Snyder’s first project for Netflix, and it’s seemingly been a great investment for the streamer.
The director’s zombie-heist movie has gone on to become one of the most-watched original movies on the streamer since its inception (per The Hollywood Reporter), so it isn't unsurprising that reports have heavily hinted that a sequel is in the works.
Netflix and Snyder's Stone Quarry Production company have already made a prequel spin-off movie, while an animated prequel TV shows is also in development.
Now that Snyder has signed a two-year, first-look deal with the streamer, though, it's possible a sequel could happen. Next up, though, is the Star Wars-like movie Rebel Moon – so you might have to wait a little while.
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If you want to know all of the details about the supposed Army of the Dead sequel and what could happen next, you’ve come to the right place.
Our hub breaks down what we know about this potential project so far, including its cast, where the story could go, when we might see it land on Netflix and more.
We should say that Army of the Dead 2 hasn’t officially been confirmed by Netflix yet, so this is purely theoretical at this point. But if you've finished the movie, you'll know there are numerous possibilities for a sequel, if Netflix decides to go ahead with one.
There are huge spoilers for Army of the Dead from this point on, including character deaths, the film’s ending and more. If you haven’t watched it yet, this is your last chance to leave.
Army of the Dead 2 release date: when will it launch?
As we mentioned, Netflix hasn’t greenlit a sequel, so there’s no release date yet. This depended on Army of the Dead’s success but, given its popularity, it's likely this is a case of ‘when’ and not ‘if’.
It seems that Army of the Dead 2 is now happening, too. According to The Hollywoord Reporter, Snyder is thrashing out the details for a sequel with head writer Shay Hatten following the signing of his exclusivity deal with Netflix.
Army of the Dead 2, though, won't be arriving any time soon. Snyder and company are working on a new Netflix original film – Rebel Moon – and its other Army-verse projects before attentions may turn to an official sequel. We'll keep you posted on this front when we hear more.
Following the success of Army of the Dead, Snyder had revealed his hopes that a sequel would be forthcoming.
In an interview with Esquire, Snyder confirmed that he would return for a sequel if Netflix agreed to make one, but those discussions hadn't taken place before its release.
“If there was ever a desire for another Army movie, I'm knocking on wood,” Snyder said. “I would be happy to do it. Shay [Hatten, Army of the Dead co-screenwriter] and I know exactly what happens after this.”
Snyder doubled down on those aspirations with Polygon, revealing that any possible follow-up would be crazier than its predecessor.
“I’d make it in a second,” he said. “What we have planned is too crazy. Once we knew Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) was bit [by Zeus], and he’s going to Mexico City, I was like, ‘You know what’s gonna happen?’ And then I just went on a tear. And by the time it ended, Shay was like, ‘OK.’”
That sounds pretty promising – if Netflix decides it wants a sequel, then, Snyder will make one.
Army of the Dead 2 cast: who could return?
There are only a few survivors by the movie’s end, so there won’t be many returning cast members for any potential sequel. Depending on where Army of the Dead 2 could be set (more on this below), we might not even see those individuals reprise their roles either.
If any of them do return, these could be the only candidates:
- Omari Hardwick as Vanderohe
- Ella Purnell as Kate Ward
- Matthias Schweighöfer as Ludwig Dieter
- Hiroyuki Sanada ans Bly Tanaka
Army of the Dead 2 villain: will Vanderohe be the new zombie king?
It’s a big possibility. After the US government’s nuclear strike destroys Las Vegas (and the zombies within), Vanderohe surprisingly emerges from the rubble. He’d been locked in the underground casino vault from earlier in the film and, as a result, survived the bomb’s blast.
Escaping with two large bags of cash, Vanderohe travels to Utah and bribes one of the state airport’s staff into renting him a private jet. Not long after he boards the plane, however, Vanderohe feels nauseous and heads to the jet’s bathroom to clean himself up.
It’s here where Vanderohe realizes he was bitten during his confrontation with Zeus (Richard Cetrone). The infection is spreading throughout his body, and it won’t be long before he succumbs to it and becomes an alpha zombie.
As the pilot tells Vanderohe to return to his seat so they can depart, Vanderohe laughs at the irony of his situation – he could be the cause for the next outbreak when the plane arrives at its destination: Mexico City.
The screen fades to black moments later, so audiences are unaware of Vanderohe’s ultimate fate. Speaking to TechRadar ahead of Army of the Dead's release, Hardwick suggested that he would be keen to explore what happens to Vanderohe if a sequel is greenlit.
“I can’t disclose that [the possibilities for a sequel], but I think everyone would be excited as I would if there was an opportunity,” he said. “If it does happen, you could get to see my character get down in a new way. But I can’t necessarily speak about the way it looks, or the form or fashion you’ll see Vanderohe in the future.”
In a separate chat with Collider, Hardwick was even more ambiguous about Army of the Dead’s final scene and what it could mean for a sequel.
“I think we leave my face in the form of a question mark," he said. “And I think that’s where I tried to play it, this space of being interrogative and not a period. I didn’t want to be declarative; I wanted to be a question mark at the end. If my face could be compared to anything of exclamation, it was that of a question mark.”
However, in his Esquire interview, Snyder confirmed that Hardwick would be the new ‘Zeus’ if a second Army of the Dead movie becomes a reality.
Asked about plans for the potential follow-up film’s antagonist, Snyder said: “Yes, Omari would be the new Zeus - and a very scary Zeus.”
Army of the Dead 2 plot: what will it be about?
Most likely another zombie apocalypse. Vanderohe is certain to be the cause of a new outbreak in Mexico’s capital, so this would be the likely backdrop to whatever Army of the Dead 2’s plot would be.
Speaking to The Film Junkee post-release, Snyder revealed why he had chosen Mexico City to be the next ‘ground zero’ for a zombie outbreak. The reason? Because, in Snyder’s words, “you aren’t building a wall around that place” - a far cry from the US government’s ability to wall off Las Vegas with numerous shipping containers.
A new zombie apocalypse could allow for the return of certain Army of the Dead characters, too. For one, Kate could be drafted in to give her expertise on the situation. She’s the only surviving member, after all, and any help she could provide would be vital in attempting to eradicate Vanderohe’s new zombie army.
One very interesting prospect, though, could be the return of Dieter. As we speculated in our Army of the Dead ending explained article, we don’t actually see him die at Zeus’ hands, even though it’s likely that he did.
If Dieter survived Zeus’ attack and the nuclear strike somehow, his return on Army of the Dead 2 would make for a very interesting plot point. Dieter and Vanderohe’s blossoming bromance was one of Army of the Dead’s highlights, and it would be fascinating to see how Dieter would react to Vanderohe being the cause for a new outbreak. We’d be eager to witness how Dieter deals with this revelation and whether he’d have the courage to kill his former friend if it came down to it.
I’m happy for Zack Snyder. He found a studio that understands him and is actually excited to work with him. ARMY OF THE DEAD 2 HERE WE GO! pic.twitter.com/o4L7ZKAAwyJuly 21, 2021
In fact, during his chat with The Film Junkee (credit to ScreenRant for finding this), Snyder teased the prospect of Dieter’s survival. In Snyder’s view, it has to do with the horror movie genre’s trope about off-screen character deaths, saying: “We don’t see him die, that’s true. That’s fair. You would say in a horror movie if we don’t see you die… by the rules of horror… [you haven’t died].”
As for what else Army of the Dead 2’s plot could cover, there’s the prospect of explaining what those robot zombies are about.
Don’t know what we’re referring to? Rewatch the scene where Mikey Guzman (Raúl Castillo) dies. Before he gets overwhelmed by the undead, you’ll see him shoot a solitary zombie in one of Snyder’s classic slow-motion shots. As it falls to the ground and, as the camera cuts away, you’ll notice it has a Terminator-esque face.
What does this mean? Snyder has confirmed (via ComicBook.com) that robot zombies are a part of this universe and hinted that their role in proceedings is an intriguing one.
Did the US government create these robot zombies so that they could keep tabs on the real zombies and how they operate? It would certainly tie into the plot point where the government plans to build their own zombie army – or the ‘ultimate biological weapon’, as Bly Tanaka’s head of security Martin (Garret Dillahunt) calls them.
Building robot zombies to spy on Las Vegas’ undead hordes, then, isn’t out of the realms of possibility. It would be interesting to see how they factor into this universe more in Army of the Dead’s sequel. Admittedly, this is something that could be explored in one of its prequel projects (more on these below). If there’s no room to examine them in the prequel properties, though, Army of the Dead 2 would be a good place to do so.
Army of the Dead 2 trailer: is one available to watch?
Unsurprisingly, no. Army of the Dead 2 is some way off from being filmed, let alone a trailer being released.
If that ever changes, we'll let you know.
Army of the Dead 2 timeline: how could the prequel projects affect it?
They’re unlikely to impact Army of the Dead 2’s story, really. Both projects tie into the events of the first film, so they shouldn’t directly influence Army of the Dead 2.
For anyone unfamiliar with the other projects, we’ll be getting more content in this universe by way of two prequels in the form of a movie and animated series.
The prequel film will be the first to arrive, and it’ll be called Army of Thieves. The flick is being directed by (and will also star) Schweighöfer, who reprises his role as Dieter.
Speaking to IndieWire about the movie, Army of the Dead producer Deborah Snyder revealed that it’ll be a “romantic comedy heist film”. The movie won’t contain any zombies as it’s set in Europe, and the zombie outbreak only occurs in the US.
Snyder, however, stated that “It’s more like ‘The Italian Job,’ but 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.”
As for the six-episode animated series, titled Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, it’ll follow the events that precede Army of the Dead. The TV show will explore the backstories of Army of the Dead’s cast, including Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) and Maria Cruz (Ana de la Reguera) during the initial outbreak. It’ll also introduce audiences to new characters such as Joe Manganiello’s Rose and Harry Lennix’s Boorman.
“Our movie takes place after the pandemic, they’ve contained the zombies to Vegas, but we don’t really talk about where it comes from,” Snyder told IndieWire. “Where did this pathogen come from? How did this all happen? And we see our team and that they had been on these rescue missions. We see some flashbacks, what they were doing, but we don’t really know more, so the anime series is a great way to find out the origin of this.”
Army of Thieves is scheduled to arrive before the end of 2021, while Lost Vegas doesn’t currently have a release date.
Army of the Dead 2 odds: does it deserve another outing?
Yes. We said that Army of the Dead was Snyder’s “best movie yet”, and we stand by that verdict.
Army of the Dead topped the Nielsen streaming charts for the week of May 17 to May 23 (per The Hollywood Reporter), and racked up 913 million minutes of viewers' time following its May 21 release.
It would be a shame, then, if a sequel wasn’t forthcoming. True, those prequel projects will give us more stories set in the Army of the Dead universe, but it would be fun to see where Snyder takes this potential series moving forward.
If his plans are extravagant as the director makes them to be, we could be in for a wild ride with Army of the Dead 2. Netflix, too, sounds like the perfect home for his future productions, given that the streaming giant has provided him with as much creative freedom as possible.
If we don’t get a sequel to Army of the Dead, it’ll be up to viewer interpretation as to whether Vanderohe goes on to create a new zombie empire elsewhere. However, we’d like to see Army of the Dead 2, if for no other reason that Snyder is likely to be continually asked about it for years to come.
That happened, and continues to happen, with his dormant DC superhero universe, so it’s hopefully in Netflix’s best interests to let Snyder make another Army of the Dead installment. Make it so.
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