Zack Snyder may have imploded the DC Extended Universe, but Netflix is giving him the chance to create another cinematic universe with his upcoming film Army of the Dead, which received it first teaser trailer today. The film is set to launch a franchise, with a prequel cartoon already in the works and most likely a sequel coming at some point. The teaser is pretty much full of Zack Snyder’s trademark slow motion, over-dramatic actors, and his now cliche use of a slow song juxtaposed with ridiculous action and violence.
As the teaser trailer suggests, Army of the Dead follows a team of rough characters who attempt to steal millions of dollars from a casino in Las Vegas. The twist is that Las Vegas has been overrun by zombies and is about to be nuked to the ground by the U.S. government. It’s Ocean’s 11 meets Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake with a good dose of whatever generic action movie you want to reference. The film stars Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana De La Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada, Garret Dillahunt, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Huma Qureshi, Samantha Win, Richard Cetrone, and Michael Cassidy. It’s possible their characters all have names, but by the looks of the Army of the Dead teaser trailer, they’ll most likely just fit into zombie movie stereotypes before dying one by one.
Snyder also produced and wrote the movie. This is where Snyder’s unique cinematic vision belongs: over-the-top zombie action that plays well when it is delivered with a wink to the camera and plenty of gore. It’s why Dawn of the Dead was so fantastic and parts of Watchmen really worked. While it’s hard to get too excited about his four-hour Zack Snyder’s Justice League, this film looks like the exact kind of fodder that Snyder can nail.
Army of the Dead is set to land on Netflix on May 21.
