Justice League‘s Zack Snyder is back in the saddle for what is being described as a “zombie heist movie” for Netflix. Just when you think the likes of The Walking Dead and iZombie have rinsed the brain-hungry genre for all its worth, Army of the Dead is aiming for something new.
After directing 2004’s Dawn of the Dead remake, Snyder is back working with the undead. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Army of the Dead will follow a group of mercenaries who are dropped into a zombie-infected zone with the aim of robbing a casino. Ocean’s Eleven meets 28 Days Later…consider me sold!
Snyder is best-known for movies like Watchmen and helping craft the DC Extended Universe. The director was originally signed on for a five-movie arc that would’ve supposedly ending with him killing off Ben Affleck’s Batman. Sadly, family tragedy forced Snyder away from his directing duties on Justice League and led to him sharing the credit with Joss Whedon.
We all know how Justice League failed to be the superhero showstopper it was supposed to be, which meant the likes of Snyder, Henry Cavill, and now even Ben Affleck have turned their back on the series. However, Snyder hopes to get back to what he does best with Army of the Dead.
After being chained to the helm of the DCEU, Snyder has described Army of the Dead as a “palate cleanser.” Given more free rein than he had working with the likes of Batman and Superman, Snyder said, “There are no handcuffs on me at all with this one.”
The movie has been in the works for over decade and has apparently evolved over the years. Back in 2011, Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. was attached to direct and explained to io9 how he wanted to include a controversial storyline. “The male zombies rape human females… And they have human hybrid zombie offsprings,” he explained. While that would’ve definitely been a first for zombie movies, it’s easy to see how some people might be put off by human-zombie intercourse.
The site has reached out to Netflix, which responded to confirm there will be no raping zombies in Snyder’s version. Interestingly, Snyder explored the idea of zombie babies in Dawn of the Dead. In the movie, a pregnant woman ended up giving birth to a hideous little biter that the group had to put out of its misery.
With an impressive $90 million budget, Snyder promised The Hollywood Reporter that Army of the Dead will be “something fun and epic and crazy and bonkers in the best possible way.” Well Zack, you’ve certainly got the right idea so far!
[Featured Image: Universal Pictures/Ben Affleck Instagram]