Army of the Dead

The Reckoning • Documentary • Viva Las Vengeance • Guzman of the Dead 420 • NFT of the Dead • Making of • Zombicide • WrestleMania • Soundtrack • In or Out • Why Not an EV?

## Army of the Dead

### Produced by

Deborah Snyder
Zack Snyder
Wesley Coller

### Written by

Shay Hatten
Zack Snyder
Joby Harold

### Starring

Dave Bautista
Ella Purnell
Omari Hardwick

### Released

May 14, 2021 (limited theatrical)
May 21, 2021 (Netflix)

### Budget

Under $90 million

***Army of the Dead*** is an American film directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay by Snyder, Shay Hatten and Joby Harold and a story by Snyder and Harold. The film premiered in select theaters on May 14 and on Netflix May 21, 2021.

The film is the first Netflix film to score a wide release at a major theater chain. It played at roughly 600 theaters in total. It was initially intended to be played for only a single week, but due to its popularity some theater chains extended its theatrical run.

## Synopsis

> After a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries takes the ultimate gamble by venturing into the quarantine zone for the greatest heist ever.
>
> Official synopsis

***An extended plot for Army of the Dead can be found here.***
## Cast

* Dave Bautista as Scott Ward
* Ella Purnell as Kate Ward
* Ana De La Reguera as Maria Cruz
* Theo Rossi as Burt Cummings
* Huma Qureshi as Geeta
* Garret Dillahunt as Martin
* Raúl Castillo as Mikey Guzman
* Omari Hardwick as Vanderohe
* Tig Notaro as Marianne Peters
* Nora Arnezeder as Lilly
* Matthias Schweighöfer as Ludwig Dieter
* Hiroyuki Sanada as Bly Tanaka
* Samantha Win as Chambers
* Richard Cetrone as Zeus
* Michael Cassidy as Senior Airman Kelly
* **Full credits . . . >**

## Production

### Development

On June 4, 2008, it was announced that Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Entertainment were on board to co-produce the project written by Zack Snyder and Joby Harold. Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. signed on to serve as director. On January 29, 2019, Netflix acquired the distribution rights to the project from Warner Bros., with Snyder returning as director and producer. Zack Snyder also served as co-screenwriter with Shay Hatten.

### Casting

On April 5, 2019, it was announced that Dave Bautista had been cast. On May 28, 2019, it was announced Ella Purnell, Ana De La Reguera, Theo Rossi and Huma Qureshi joined the cast. On July 15, 2019, it was reported that Garret Dillahunt, Raúl Castillo, Omari Hardwick, Chris D'Elia, Nora Arnezeder, Matthias Schweighöfer, Hiroyuki Sanada, Samantha Win and Richard Cetrone had been added. On August 14, 2020, Tig Notaro was announced to replace D'Elia, who who was cut from the film following sexual misconduct accusations made against him.

### Filming

The film entered principal photography in mid-2019, with a reported budget nearing $90 million, though Chris D'Elia's replacement with Tig Notaro reportedly cost millions more. The movie began production on Monday, July 15, 2019, in Albuquerque and headed to New Jersey to shoot on location in a casino in Atlantic City.

#### Filming locations

* Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
	+ Route 66 Bingo - Route 66 Bingo (zombie wars)
	+ Jack's Step-Inn Lounge - Jack's Step-Inn Lounge (zombie wars)
	+ Lucky Boy - Lucky Boy (Scott Ward's recruitment)
	+ Bode Aviation (Double Eagle II Airport) - Marianne Peters' recruitment
	+ Ski-Hi Liquors - Ski-Hi Liquors (Mikey Guzman's recruitment)
	+ Sandia Safe & Lock Co - Gwendoline's Safe & Lock Co. (Ludwig Dieter's recruitment)
	+ Albuquerque Rail Yards - Bly Tanaka's warehouse (planning the Götterdämmerung heist)
* Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
	+ Showboat Atlantic City - Bly's Casino interior, underground mall

## Release

*“Army of the Dead,”* played exclusively in cinemas starting on May 14, 2021, for one week prior to its Netflix release on May 21, 2021.

Cinemark , one of the country's biggest theater chains, had agreed to screen the movie. It ran at 200 Cinemark locations, making *Army of the Dead* the first Netflix film to score a wide release at a major theater chain. The movie played at roughly 600 theaters in total, including iPic, Landmark Theatres , Alamo Drafthouse , Harkins Theatres , and Cinépolis .

The limited theatrical release model was so effective that Cinemark has since made similar deals with other made-for-streaming movies.

## Future projects

On September 3, 2020, *Deadline* reported that Netflix had greenlit a prequel feature and spin-off anime series before the film release. The prequel was directed by Matthias Schweighöfer and followed his *Army of the Dead* character, Ludwig Dieter. The prequel began production in October 2020, and Snyder announced on December 22, 2020, that they had wrapped production.

The anime will center around some of the characters from *Army of the Dead* during the early phases of the zombie outbreak.

On July 21, 2021, *The Hollywood Reporter* reported that *Army of the Dead* would be getting a sequel that Zack Snyder would develop with Shay Hatten as part of a two year deal between Netflix and Snyder's company, The Stone Quarry.

## Reception

After its first week on Netflix, Netflix reported that 72 million households were expected to watch the film within the first four weeks, putting it on track to become one of their most popular movies of all time. However, the film received 3 million views over this expectation, making it the fifth most viewed Netflix title of all time.

Alongside the release of *Army of Thieves*, *Army of the Dead* once again peaked as the number two Netflix movie worldwide, second only to *Army of Thieves*.

When the Academy Awards announced the inclusion of a fan favorite Oscar award, *Army of the Dead* began trending heavily, falling in and out of the number one slot against *Cinderella*. Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Dave Bautista, Matthias Schweighöfer, Omari Hardwick, Ana De La Reguera, Samantha Win, Theo Rossi, Huma Qureshi, Danielle Burgio, and Lauren Perry all posted on social media in gratitude for the fan response. The film was announced to be the winner at the ceremony on March 27, 2022.

## Gallery

***An extended Army of the Dead gallery can be found here!***
Army of the Dead - Official Trailer - NetflixArmy of the Dead - Official Teaser - Netflix

## Trivia

* We have a transcript of the film, which can be found here: Army of the Dead/Transcript

* A Twitter emoji was created to promote the film with the hashtags #ArmyOfTheDead, #AlwaysBetOnDead, #SurvivorsTakeAll, #DeadDrop, and #ZackSnyder; and another was added for the hashtag #ZombieTiger.
* Snyder produced with his partner and wife, Deborah Snyder, and their third partner, Wesley Coller, via their new production company, The Stone Quarry.
* The film brings the Snyders back to the genre of Zack's feature debut, 2004's *Dawn of the Dead*, which launched his high-profile helming career.
	+ It also reunites him with Netflix's movie head Scott Stuber, the executive who originally gave Snyder his big-screen shot on the Universal release.
* A 30-minute documentary titled *Creating an Army of the Dead* was released alongside the film's Netflix debut.
* A short tie-in film was released to promote the film, called *The Reckoning*.
* A VR experience tie-in game was produced to promote the film, called *Army of the Dead: Viva Las Vengeance*.
* An online safecracking puzzle game was released to promote the film, called *NFT of the Dead*.
* Digital files were released in small packages to promote the film via *Army of the Dead* Dead Drop.

* Mister Cartoon worked with the studio to promote the film with a custom car paint job.
* A promotional crossover took place between *Army of the Dead* and WWE during *WrestleMania Backlash* 2021.
* There are a few deleted scenes that have either later been released, or described by the production team.
* Will Ferrell will drive a Sierra EV through the *Army of the Dead* apocalypse in a commercial for the 2023 Super Bowl.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rubin, Rebecca (2021-05-04). Netflix Will Actually Release Zack Snyder’s Zombie Thriller ‘Army of the Dead’ in a Lot of Movie Theaters. *Variety*.
2. ↑ Sciretta, Peter (2008-06-04). Matthijs van Heijningen to direct Zack Snyder’s *Army of the Dead*. *SlashFilm*.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kit, Borys (2019-01-29). Zack Snyder Returning to Movies With Zombie Action Pic *Army of the Dead* (Exclusive). *The Hollywood Reporter*.
4. ↑ Fleming, Jr., Mike (2019-04-05). Dave Bautista To Star In Zack Snyder-Directed ‘Army Of The Dead’. *Deadline*.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Galuppo, Mia (2019-07-15). Zack Snyder's *Army of the Dead* Rounds Out Cast With Omari Hardwick, Chris D'Elia.
6. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2020-08-14). Zack Snyder Zombie Movie ‘Army Of The Dead’ Will Undergo Reshoots As Tig Notaro Replaces Chris D’Elia. *Deadline*.
7. ↑ Parker, Ryan (2021-05-22). Zack Snyder, Netflix Spent Millions Adding Tig Notaro to 'Army of the Dead'. *The Hollywood Reporter*.
8. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (2021-06-15). "More Streaming Titles Headed to Theaters After ‘Army Of The Dead’ Cinema Run, Says Cinemark CFO". *The Hollywood Reporter*.
9. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2020-09-03). Zack Snyder Netflix Zombie Pic ‘Army Of The Dead’ Spawning Film Prequel & Anime Series. *Deadline*.
10. ↑ Barnhardt, Adam (2020-10-17). Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead Prequel Begins Production. ComicBook.com.
11. ↑ Snyder, Zack (2020-12-22). That’s a wrap on *Army of the Dead*: The Prequel. Twitter.
12. ↑ Del Rosario, Alexandra (2020-10-01). ‘Army Of The Dead: Lost Vegas’: Netflix Anime Series Adds Joe Manganiello, Christian Slater, Vanessa Hudgens & More. *Deadline*.
13. ↑ Kit, Borys (2021-07-21). Zack Snyder’s Stone Quarry Productions Signs First-Look Film Deal With Netflix (Exclusive). *The Hollywood Reporter*.
14. ↑ Netflix Tudum (2021-05-28). 72 million households are betting on dead.. Twitter.
15. ↑ Porter, Rick (2021-07-20). ‘Sweet Tooth,’ ‘Army of the Dead’ Rack Up Big Netflix View Counts in Second Quarter. *The Hollywood Reporter*.
16. ↑ Weprin, Alex (2023-02-02). Netflix to Feature General Motors EVs in TV Shows and Movies in Deal That Kicks Off at Super Bowl. *The Hollywood Reporter*. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023.

## External links

* *Army of the Dead* official page at Netflix
* *Army of the Dead* at the Internet Movie Database