Netflix has revealed the first footage from Zack Snyder’s upcoming zombie movie Army of the Dead.
Earlier today, the streaming giant previewed their star-studded slate of upcoming original films in an epic trailer giving us first glimpses at countless exciting productions, including action-comedy Red Notice, Chris Hemsworth vehicle Escape from Spiderhead and Army of the Dead. With so much else being showcased in the promo, we don’t get to see too much, but it does give us a flavor of how the flick is going to go down.
At the 1:15 mark, star Dave Bautista appears on screen to tell us that “I love movies ’cause they help you escape.” We then get a few seconds of footage from the film, which depicts the Guardians of the Galaxy actor in action. Literally, as the sneak peek includes a brief shot of Bautista and his co-stars shooting at what are no doubt the walking dead. The slow motion technique used in this sequence makes it clear that we’re watching something from the mind of Zack Snyder, too.
Army of the Dead is a unique twist on the zombie genre, mashing up the post-apocalyptic trend with the tropes of a heist movie. It follows a group of mercenaries plotting a heist on a Las Vegas casino during a zombie outbreak. Bautista leads, with the rest of the cast including Ella Purnell, Garret Dillahunt, Ana de la Reguera and Tig Notaro. This is Snyder’s second time playing with zombies as well, after 2004’s Dawn of the Dead remake.
That film was written by James Gunn and funnily enough, Bautista passed up the opportunity to work with his old pal on The Suicide Squad in favor of making this movie with Snyder. It may have been the smart move, too, as Netflix has big plans for the property. An anime series is already in the works, titled Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, and a prequel film will follow starring and directed by Matthias Schweighöfer.
Army of the Dead has yet to be given a release date, but expect it on Netflix sometime in 2021.
