Netflix’s Army of the Dead universe is off to a phenomenal start, repaying the streamer’s faith in Zack Snyder to create a hit in-house property from the ground up. Not only did the undead actioner draw in 75 million streams to become the platform’s ninth most-watched original movie ever, but the announcement of Snyder’s exclusive development deal came burdened with the news that a sequel has officially entered active development.
Not only that, but prequel Army of Thieves was recently confirmed for a fall 2021 debut, while animated companion series Lost Vegas has been set for a spring 2022 bow. It’s all systems go for the rapidly-expanding universe, then, and there’s going to be much more to come with the romantic heist caper holding a Comic-Con panel later today.
In anticipation of the event, Snyder took to social media and revealed the first character poster from Army of Thieves, focusing on everyone’s favorite eccentric safecracker Dieter, which you can check out below.
Matthias Schweighöfer became an instant favorite thanks to his scene-stealing supporting role in Army of the Dead, and as both the leading man and director of the prequel, he’s got a much bigger presence on either side of the camera when it comes to Army of Thieves.
Snyder and his wife and producing partner Deborah have described the project as an Ocean’s Eleven-inspired blend of heist thriller and romantic comedy, presumably with Nathalie Emmanuel’s Gwendoline as the other half of the equation opposite Dieter. Schweighöfer says it’s not a zombie movie, but he hasn’t ruled out the undead appearing altogether, and it’ll be interesting to see how Army of Thieves contributes to the overall mythology as both a prequel and a shift into an entirely different genre.