Netflix Canceling The Army Of The Dead Franchise Underlines The Biggest Problem With Zack Snyder’s Movie

It appears Netflix has canceled plans to make Army of the Dead a franchise, which only highlights a big problem with the original Zack Snyder film. The very first Zack Snyder movie was 2004’s Dawn of the Dead, a remake of the George A. Romero zombie classic. There was a sense of the director coming full circle with 2021’s Army of the Dead, where a team of mercenaries enters into a walled-off, zombie-infested Las Vegas to pull off a heist.

The film was Snyder’s follow-up to the infamously troubled Justice League and saw the filmmaker unwinding and having some fun. Army of the Dead scored broadly positive reviews (earning 67% on Rotten Tomatoes) and became one of Netflix’s most-watched original movies. Army of the Dead set up several sequels and spinoffs too, including an animated prequel anime called Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas. This would have brought back most of the cast and detailed the fall of Vegas before the movie begins.

Army Of The Dead Was Hurt By Its Franchise Plans

Netflix appears to have pulled the plug on Army of the Dead

The movie may have been a solid hit, but it feels like it hasn’t left much of a cultural footprint. It was a fun (if flawed) action adventure, while Army of the Dead’s cast helped elevate it above some familiar genre beats. Despite Snyder’s ambitions with the property, an article for The Wrap confirmed that Netflix has quietly canceled both Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas and planned live-action sequels.

This will come as disappointing news to those who enjoyed the 2021 film, but in truth, Army of the Dead was hurt by its franchise planning. The premise felt like an ode to the John Carpenter movies of the 1980s and, like those films, Snyder’s zombie adventure should have been a lean ride with a 90 to 100-minute length, max. Instead, the runtime is closer to 150 minutes, much of which was setting up the aforementioned spinoffs, like the existence of robot zombies in Vegas.

The movie would have greatly benefitted from a tighter runtime, and since there’s a literal ticking clock in the form of an impending missile strike, this would have made Army of the Dead feel more urgent. The film is instead dragged down by its additional padding, which is now useless considering Netflix has canned further entires. Still, Army of the Dead’s darkly comic ending is better served now that it serves as the actual end of the story.

Army Of Thieves Proved Why Army Of The Dead Didn’t Need To Launch A Franchise

Army of the Dead’s only follow-up has already been forgotten

Army of the Dead co-star Matthias Schweighöfer went on to star in and direct Army of Thieves, a prequel spinoff that detailed another heist his character Ludwig took part in. Despite taking place in a world where zombies exist, this element is bizarrely sidelined since – as Ludwig mentions in the first film – he’s never actually encountered a zombie before. Instead, Army of Thieves is a tepid action comedy that feels like a quick rewrite could have turned it into an original film with no ties to its predecessor.

Army of Thieves may have earned respectable viewing figures, but it added little to the lore of the would-be franchise. If anything, the prequel has been mostly forgotten, even by fans of Army of the Dead. The existence of the spinoff underlined that Snyder’s film would have worked better as a one-and-done. Not every movie needs to create a new series, and Army of Thieves‘ lack of substance is proof of that.

Army Of The Dead: Lost Vegas Story Has Already Been Told

The fall of Vegas was covered in the 2021 movie’s credits sequence

Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas was confirmed way back in 2020, and was once set to arrive on Netflix in 2023. Snyder is no stranger to his films having anime spinoffs either, as Watchmen’sTales of the Black Freighter proves. On paper, a series following the movie’s characters as Vegas fell sounds like fun, and according to Snyder, much of the work on the show has already been completed. Lost Vegas‘ cast have recorded their roles, and the pre-visualization has also been completed for all the episodes.

Still, it feels like Army of the Dead’s opening credits montage covered the fall of Vegas pretty well. This sequence is arguably the best of the entire movie, with the scene establishing the main cast and being filled with horrific and funny imagery. This opening exemplifies how the rest of the story should have played out, with the city’s fall being covered in the span of a single, five-minute scene. Apparently, the series would have delved into the robot zombie mystery teased in Army of the Dead too, but again, this doesn’t feel like essential information.

Could Planet Of The Dead Still Happen?

Is Army of the Dead 2 fully dead?

There was a time when it felt like Zack Snyder’s Justice League cut would never be seen, and that hopes for one were wishful thinking. Cut to 2021 and Zack Snyder’s Justice League actually saw release, proving the director’s will is stronger than most. In the previously mentioned Wrap interview, Snyder stated that “Army of the Dead” isn’t entirely dead” and that he and his producer wife Deborah still have plans in mind. Considering a fair amount of work has been finished on Lost Vegas, there’s a chance the anime could still get polished off and see a proper release.

There’s also the question of whether Planet of the Dead (AKA Army of the Dead 2) could happen. For the time being, Netflix has cooled on the franchise plan, perhaps sensing that viewers weren’t craving another visit to that universe. Snyder told Inverse in 2023 that Planet of the Dead would reveal Ludwig survived his apparent death in the first film and that Nathalie Emmanuel’s Army of Thieves character Gwendoline could have returned.

Assuming Planet of the Dead picks up from the original’s shock reveal that the mercenary squad’s sole survivor Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) is infected, the sequel would have followed how the zombie virus spread beyond Vegas to the rest of the world. The director also mentioned that aliens could be involved and the sequel could tie into his sci-fi saga Rebel Moon, but maybe the lack of a solid hook or script doomed the Army of the Dead follow-up.

Maybe Army of the Dead’s planned offshoots would have been great and justified the story being expanded, but it can’t help but feel like Netflix made the right call. Once the credits roll on Snyder’s 2021 adventure, the story feels complete, and sequels adding wacky sci-fi elements or going into detail about robot zombies doesn’t sound like essential additions.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, The Wrap, Inverse

Army of the Dead

From director Zach Snyder, Army of the Dead combines the zombie apocalypse and heist genres in an exciting twist on the classic action film. Approached to retrieve $200 million dollars from a casino vault in the now zombie-ridden Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries embarks on the mission, unaware of what dangers await them inside the quarantined city limits. 

Release Date

May 21, 2021

Distributor(s)

Netflix

Cast

Ana de la Reguera , Samantha Win , Tig Notaro , Matthias Schweighöfer , Huma Qureshi , Omari Hardwick , Michael Cassidy , Theo Rossi , Ella Purnell , Raul Castillo , Hiroyuki Sanada , Garret Dillahunt , Richard Cetrone , Dave Bautista , Nora Arnezeder

Budget

$70-90 Million

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