ARMY OF THE DEAD (Pictured) DAVE BAUTISTA as SCOTT WARD in ARMY OF THE DEAD. Cr. CLAY ENOS/NETFLIX © 2021
Army of the Dead was meant to be Netflix’s fun and emboldened new horror franchise with plans for more entries. However, following Rebel Moon’s recent release of the R-rated versions, it’s been revealed any plans for Army of the Dead sequels, including Planet of the Dead and its animated prequel, Lost Vegas, have quietly shelved, according to The Wrap.
The outlet recently spoke with Zack and Deborah Snyder, discussing the recently released director’s cut of Snyder’s space-opera sci-films Rebel Moon Part 1 and Part 2. In the discussion, the subject of Army of the Dead was brought up, confirming that all plans for sequels and prequels, including the projects Planet of the Dead and Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, have been “quietly canceled.”
Here’s the full segment from the article talking about Army of the Dead:
““Army of the Dead,” a movie the Snyders made for Netflix before “Rebel Moon,” had a similarly ambitious plan, with several sequels and spin-offs in the works (one, the prequel “Army of Thieves,” was actually released), along with an animated series. The animated series was quietly canceled, along with plans for subsequent films. Zack said, “We are very ambitious with everything.” And “Army of the Dead” isn’t entirely dead, as Deborah pointed out that there will be a themed experience coming to the Six Flags theme parks this Halloween. “It’s going to be a really cool experience,” she added.”
Over the past few years, we’ve heard very little about Netflix developing more Army of the Dead projects outside of Planet of the Dead and Lost Vegas, so the cancellation news may not surprise many.
Picture: Zack Snyder directing Army of the Dead – Stone Quarry / Netflix
What must also be considered is Snyder’s poor run this year, beginning with the release of Rebel Moon. Four movies Rebel Moon movies were effectively released within eight months in 2024, all of which have been universally disliked by subscribers and critics alike. This has likely shaken Netflix executives’ confidence in Snyder’s leading another very expensive franchise.
However, when Army of the Dead was first released on Netflix, the action-horror initially provided Netflix with some great viewing figures. In its first 28 days on the platform, Army of the Dead was watched by 75 million households and became the ninth most-watched Netflix Original movie in the streamer’s history. Thanks to the movie’s success, plans were made for a prequel animated project and future sequels, such as Planet of the Dead.
The last set of viewing statistics we got for Army of the Dead and Army of Thieves comes courtesy of the 2023 Netflix Engagement reports, which list the viewing hours and views for most movies and TV series available on the streamer for the entirety of the year. Army of the Dead pulled in 46M hours, equating to 18.7M views, and Army of Thieves did 49M hours watched, equating to 22.6M views.
Lost Vegas is lost, after all?
Before what was written in The Wrap, the last update on the animated prequel series Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas came in November 2023.
In an interview with The Nerd Queens, Snyder was quoted:
“I will say that there’s been a slight stall on the Lost Vegas animated thing. For technical reasons, it went off the rail a little bit. Twilight of the Gods, on the other hand, has been forging ahead incredibly well and is looking amazing.”
He followed this up with a reveal that Rebel Moon and Army of the Dead share the same cinematic universe and further revealed that a character from Rebel Moon was meant to show up in Lost Vegas:
“There’s actually a character from Rebel Moon in the Army of the Dead animated series that we never completed.
He concluded the topic by clarifying where in production the series was;
“We did all the scripts and the animatics for Dead Vegas, and all the voices are recorded. So, you could watch it, even in its rough animatic form—you can watch the entire run.”
However, TomMCJL recently briefly discussed the Army of the Dead sequel, Planet of the Dead, with Zack Snyder. In the interview, Snyder was asked what genres Planet of the Dead mix with. Snyder responded, revealing that the story would be a “quest,” such as a “journey to another world.” Unfortunately, from TomMCJL’s interview, Snyder did not clarify if the movie was still going ahead.
We’ve also reached out to Netflix for comment and further clarification.
What is Snyder working on next?
For Netflix, Snyder’s next major project is Twilight of the Gods which is scheduled to hit this September. Beyond that, we don’t know if there’s any more projects to come specifically at Netflix.
In May 2024, Variety reported that a 300 television show was in early development at Warner Bros., and Zack Snyder was in negotiation to direct and executive produce the series. As Synder directed the first 300 movies, it isn’t a surprise that he has been approached for the project. His wife, Deborah Snyder, who was also an executive producer on 300, would return as an executive producer under their production banner, Stone Quarry.
Picture: Zack Snyder working with Gerard Butler in 300 – Warner Bros.
In late July 2024, CinemaBlend hosted a podcast where (via World of Reel) Snyder stated he’s actively working on a smaller movie:
“I’m trying to do a small movie right now. I’m not going to say what it is, but I was, like, can I just do a movie without any visual effects in it for like five minutes? Then, I’ll go back to the insanity […] I’m supposed to be writing this little movie and that’s kind of what I want to do.”
Is Army of the Dead… Dead dead?
No! According to Deborah Synder, who, in an interview with The Wrap, revealed that an Army of the Dead-themed experience would be coming to Six Flags theme parks on Halloween 2024.
However, is Army of the Dead dead on Netflix? For the time being, it looks like it.
Would you like to have seen more of Army of the Dead on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
