Army of the Deadstar Dave Bautista asserts that the upcoming zombie heist film is more than just blood and guts. The full-length trailer for the high-anticipated Netflix film was released last week, offering a glimpse at Zack Snyder’s long-awaited return to the genre.
Army of the Deadwas directed by Zack Snyder and stars Bautista as Scott Ward, Ella Purnell as Kate Ward, Omari Hardwick as Vanderohe, and Ana de la Reguera as Cruz. Snyder, who spent the last decade directing DC films likeMan of Steel,Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, andHBO Max’sJustice League, wrote the film’s screenplay with Shay Hatten and Joby Harold. The film follows a group of mercenaries who conduct a heist in a Las Vegas casino during the height of a zombie outbreak.
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The DCEU filmmaker is returning to his zombie apocalypse roots. Synder’s first film,Dawn of the Dead(2004),saw a group of human survivors struggle to defend themselves against a large flock of zombies. The film, written by futureThe Suicide SquadandGuardians of the Galaxydirector James Gunn,served as a re-envisioning of George A. Romero’sDawn of the Dead. Snyder previously revealed that makingArmy of the Deadwas the most satisfying experience of his career.
During theArmy of the Deadpanel at Justice Con, Bautista said he’s obsessed with the film and has already seen it five times. The former WWE star also noted that the blockbuster is not over the top with gore and is “head and shoulders above” the traditional zombie apocalypse film. “It is a zombie apocalypse, but there’s so much going on so it’s not just that,” said Bautista, while adding, “it’s a zombie apocalypse film but it’s not over the top gory. You’re not taking the cheap way out where it’s just focused on the blood and guts and gore.”
Last year, Netflix announced they were producing both anArmy of the Deadprequel film and animeseries. The animated prequel series, titledArmy of the Dead: Lost Vegas, will take place in the early days of the apocalypse, exploring the origin story of Bautista’s Ward and where the zombies came from. The cast includes Joe Manganiello (Justice League) as Rose, Christian Slater (Mr. Robot) as Torrance, Harry Lennix (The Blacklist) as Boorman, Ross Butler (13 Reasons Why) as Chen, and Anya Chalotra (The Witcher) as Lucilia.
Meanwhile, the live-actionprequel movie calledArmy of Thieveswas directed by Matthias Schweighöfer and will center on his ownArmy of the Deadcharacter, Ludwig Dieter. Nathalie Emmanuel, Guz Khan, and Stuart Martin also star in the project, while Zack Snyder and his wife Deborah Snyder are the producers. The film reportedly concluded filming in Germany last December.
Army of the Deadwill be released on Netflix on Jul 15, 2025.
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