Zack Snyder Netflix Zombie Pic ‘Army Of The Dead’ Spawning Film Prequel & Anime Series

Anthony D'Alessandro
·3 min read

Zack Snyder’s new zombie action heist Netflix movie Army of the Dead won’t drop until next year, but the streamer, in a unique move, has already greenlit a prequel feature and spin-off anime series.

Army of the Dead follows the aftermath of a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, and the group of mercenaries who venture into the quarantine zone to pull off a big heist. The pic has an all-star international cast including Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana De La Reguera, Theo Rossi, Huma Qureshi, Omari Hardwick, Tig Notaro, Hiroyuki Sanada, Garret Dillahunt, Matthias Schweighöfer, Raúl Castillo, Nora Arnezeder, and Samantha Win.

The prequel will be directed by and star Grimme Award winner Schweighöfer and will follow his Army of the Dead character “Ludwig Dieter.” Shay Hatten, one of the writers of the screenplay for Army of the Dead, will write the prequel as well as the anime series. The pic will be produced out of Germany by Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder and Wesley Coller of The Stone Quarry and Schweighöfer and Dan Maag of Pantaleon Films.

The idea for Netflix with Army of the Dead is to take big bets on the same IP in other languages and formats.

Beamed Zack Snyder: “I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to partner with Netflix again as we expand the Army of the Dead universe with both an international prequel, as well as exploring the visually dynamic world of animation. It’s been a great collaboration and we are thrilled that Netflix sees this as big of an IP as we do.”

“It has already been a great pleasure to be part of this wonderful ensemble around Zack Synder – a fascinating project. I am happy that it is now being developed on so many different levels,” added Schweighöfer.

The anime series, Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, chronicles the origin story of Scott (Dave Bautista) and his rescue crew during the initial fall of Vegas as they confront the mysterious source of the zombie outbreak. Zack Snyder will direct two episodes of the anime series. Jay Oliva (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and upcoming Netflix Original Anime Series Trese) will be showrunning as well as directing two episodes of the series. The series will be executive produced by Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Wesley Coller from The Stone Quarry alongside Jay Olivia and Shay Hatten. De la Reguera, Notaro, Hardwick and Purnell will reprise their feature roles in the anime series.

Schweighöfer is represented by UTA and Untitled Entertainment. Hatten is repped by CAA and Lee Stobby Entertainment.

Snyder is also in post production on HBO Max’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League which was featured recently at DC Fandome day. That recut of the 2017 feature, which will be edited into four hourly installments, and hit the Warner Media streaming service next year.

More from Deadline

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.