Zack Snyder Calls ‘Planet Of The Dead’ A “Sci-Fi Actioner With Horror Elements” With Another Possible Heist Angle

Zack Snyder and Netflix will continue their working relationship with the sci-fi film Rebel Moon, which reportedly has actress Sofia Boutella (Star Trek Beyond, Atomic Blonde, Kingsmen: The Secret Service) set for the lead female role. And there a direct sequel to Army of The Dead has been greenlit and will be shot by Snyder once he finishes up on Rebel Moon.

While speaking with Variety to help promote the prequel film Army of Thieves, Snyder dished some brief details on what they’re planning to do with the animated project Army of The Dead: Lost Vegas and the direct sequel Planet of The Dead.

“Shay [Hatten] and I have been talking about the straight sequel to Army of the Dead being possibly a sci-fi actioner with horror elements. So that’s a fun genre, probably with a heist at its center.”

While Army of The Dead very much was an horror actioner, the sci-fi stuff was on the sidelines with the hint to the time loop, the Area 51 convoy and the alien origin of the zombies not being a huge focus of the first film.

The filmmaker also zeroed in on the franchise’s sci-fi elements that could continue on.

“First of all, I know exactly what I’d want to see in the sequel. We’re doing the animated series, which will come out next year. The animated series very much delves deeply into the ‘why’ of the zombie apocalypse and where the zombies come from exactly. I think the time loops, portals, doorways to other realms, things of that nature, are very much in play. So all of those clues that Dieter gives us are very much part of how we continue to spiral out the Army of the Dead universe.”

Maybe, we’ll see a new team trying to break into an Area 51 bunker?

The Area 51 and alien origin could be excellent fodder for an Aliens-inspired zombie movie, but we’ll have to wait and see what they end up doing there. I’d personally love to see the sequel barrow elements from the arcade game Area 51 (soliders fighting zombies/aliens).

SOURCE: VARIETY

Zack Snyder Will Make ‘Army Of The Dead 2’ After He Finishes ‘Rebel Moon’; Could It Explore Area 51 Or Alien Origin?

The other week it was announced that Zack Snyder would be reuniting with Netflix for his sci-fi Rebel Moon, that he plans on shooting next and is based on his old Star Wars pitch that would homage the classic samurai movie “Seven Samurai” directed by the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

The story is set in motion when a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy is threatened by the armies of a tyrannical regent named Balisarius. Desperate people dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them make a stand.

Today, it was announced that Zack Snyder and Deborah Snyder’s Stone Quarry Productions have signed a first-look deal with Netflix. The deal revealed from The Hollywood Reporter, includes Army of The Dead 2 that will be written by Shay Hatten and will shoot after Rebel Moon. Rebel Moon is said to begin shooting in 2022 with franchise early plans for sequels and spinoff installments.

We don’t know exactly how the sequel will focus on but there are some breadcrumbs our there.

The opening sequence from Army of The Dead with the military convoy transporting Zeus, seemingly gave the impression it came from Area 51 and Zack Snyder has teased the alien connection the zombies’ origin (explaining the blue glow is alien in origin). Producer Deborah Snyder spoke to IndieWire a few months back reiterating that but teased future projects could cover that angle, but tried not to exactly spoil things.

“We hint in the movie that we’re coming from Area 51, so maybe there’s a sci-fi element to it. I’m not going to say for sure, but it’s really fun to be able to do that and also to see our team when they were at the top of their game, doing the search and rescue. It’s just another bit of information. Our movie takes place after the pandemic, they’ve contained the zombies to Vegas, but we don’t really talk about where it comes from. Where did this pathogen come from? How did this all happen? And we see our team and that they had been on these rescue missions. We see some flashbacks, what they were doing, but we don’t really know more, so the anime series is a great way to find out the origin of this,” producer Deborah Snyder teased about the alien/Area 51 linkage when speaking with IndieWire.

We’ll keep our fingers crossed for aliens, martians or a huge underground facility/Area 51 in the sequel.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER