Director Zack Snyder will partner with Netflix again to develop a prequel to Army of the Dead as well as an anime series based on the forthcoming zombie heist film that will follow a group of mercenaries plotting a heist on a Las Vegas casino during a zombie outbreak.

Army of the Dead, which stars Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana De La Reguera, Theo Rossi, Huma Qureshi, Omari Hardwick, Matthias Schweighöfer and Tig Notaro, among others, will be released on Netflix in 2021. The film is produced by The Stone Quarry’s Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder and Wesley Coller.

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Shay Hatten, one of the writers of the film’s screenplay, will also write the prequel as well as the anime series. The prequel will revolve around Matthias Schweighöfer’s character, Ludwig Dieter, from Army of the Dead. Schweighöfer is also set to direct the prequel and will produce along with the Snyders, Coller of The Stone Quarry and Dan Maag of Pantaleon Films.

The anime series, Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, will tell the origin story of Bautista’s character and his rescue crew after the fall of Las Vegas while they investigate the source of the zombie outbreak. Zack Snyder is scheduled to direct two episodes of the series. Bautista, De la Reguera, Notaro, Hardwick and Purnell will reprise their roles in the anime.

Army of the Dead was first announced in 2019 after Netflix acquired the rights to the project from Warner Bros. Entertainment. The film is planned as a sequel to the 2004 film Dawn of the Dead. Initially, the film was to be directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr, but when Netflix bought the rights, Snyder stepped in to direct from a script by himself and Joby Harold. The film began production in mid-2019 with a budget of $90 million.

Last month, Tig Notaro was announced to replace Chris D'Elia after he was cut from the film due to sexual misconduct allegations. Notaro will be inserted in the film after Snyder reshoots several scenes using her acting partner as well as a green screen.

Source: Variety

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