That Wild and Glorious 'Army of the Dead' Ending, Explained

If you haven't yet witnessed the magical zombie chaos of Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, full stop. Open up a new tab, login to Netflix, screen immediately, and return here—we'll be waiting. For those of us who have seen it, let's discuss. Amazing, yes? We'd say it's easily the best zombie movie since...Snyder's take on zombies in Dawn of the Dead in 2004. Part of why we loved Army is that it's pure fun, backed by the brilliant comedic timing of Tig Notaro, Omari Hardwick, and Matthias Schweighöfer.

But we also just enjoyed it because the zombies were just actually terrifying? Amid the trend of slow-moving, decidedly un-scary zombies (see: The Walking Dead), we were just excited to witness a zombie that felt like a true threat. In any case, if you've gotten this far, you, too, are battling with the film's ending. Here's that whole ending, explained:

Vanderohe is likely the source of a new outbreak

Toward the end of the film, we watch Vanderohe exit the bank vault, having survived the nuclear strike over Vegas. We then see him book a private plane using a bag of cash he'd taken from said vault. On the flight, he becomes disoriented and enters the lavatory. There, he discovers a bite mark along the back of his arm, implying that he'd been bitten by a zombie (likely in the fight with Zeus in the bank vault). As this happens, we hear the pilot announce their descend into Mexico City. So what happens next? Any zombie or horror fan can make a pretty clear guess: Vanderohe will, of course, turn into a Alpha zombie himself, bite one of the flight attendants or pilot as they land, and unleash a whole new zombie outbreak in Mexico.

What does this mean for the world of Army of the Dead? As is the case with many zombie movies, this outbreak will likely be significantly harder to contain than the first. That means more zombies and even more at stake for the surviving humans. As for a sequel, Snyder hasn't announced any plans as of yet and we only have one character from the original we know of that's survived. That said, there's still plenty to look forward to in the Army universe, including a prequel film and a prequel animated series, with several actors reprising their roles. Looks like this universe is only just opening up.

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