Get ready for Zack Snyder unleashed.
The director of “300,” “Watchmen,” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” has finally decided on what his very next project is going to be, and thanks to the folks at Netflix, this film will showcase Snyder without any restrictions. God help us all.
THR is reporting that Snyder has signed with Netflix to direct the film, “Army of the Dead.” As the name might suggest, ‘Army’ is the director’s return to the zombie genre that kickstarted his career in 2004 with “Dawn of the Dead.” And it would appear that the original sequel that he has developed in 2008 but was never made is now getting ready to begin production thanks to Netflix and its large bank account.
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“Army of the Dead” follows a group of mercenaries that attempt to pull off a heist during a zombie apocalypse. Originally conceived as a sequel to ‘Dawn,’ it’s unclear at this time if its still considered a follow-up or if it’s in a different universe altogether.
One thing is for sure, knowing that Snyder is not being held back at all, makes us wonder if he’s going to include this little nugget that was in the original “Army of the Dead” that was being developed a decade ago. Then-director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr said (via io9), about the film, “There’s an extra dimension to this zombie film, because they…. they…. I’m still wondering if I should tell this…. the male zombies rape human females. Yes. And they have human hybrid zombie offsprings. It’s a new take on the zombie genre, which is crazy.”
Zombie rapists? Ummmm, k. Not sure if the world of 2019 is ready for this, but either way, Snyder is hyped.
UPDATE: After digging a bit more into this project, a source close to the production has said that the “Army of the Dead” script that is going into production with Netflix is not the same one that was being developed in 2008 and is “completely redone.” And this new script will most definitely not include any of the unsavory zombie/female interactions as detailed by the previously attached director.
“There are no handcuffs on me at all with this one,” Snyder says.
He continues, “I thought this was a good palate cleanser to really dig in with both hands and make something fun and epic and crazy and bonkers in the best possible way.”
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The director seems genuinely excited for the project, which must be a relief to fans of his, after a rather tumultuous last couple of years. After the highly-publicized death of his daughter, as a result of suicide, Snyder left “Justice League” (or was fired, depending on which report you believe) and has spent the last year or so just posting the odd thing on Vero and staying out of the public eye. Now, with this new Netflix deal, it appears that he’s energized and ready to give fans the type of film that they expect from the director.
“I love to honor canon and the works of art, but this is the opportunity to find a purely joyful way to express myself through a genre,” Snyder says. “It will be the most kick-ass, self-aware — but not in a wink-to-the-camera way — balls-to-the-wall zombie freakshow that anyone has ever seen. No one’s ever let me completely loose [like this].”
Production is expected to begin this summer and could carry a price tag upwards of $90 million. This is definitely not a low-budget horror film for Netflix. Is the world ready for Zack Snyder with no restrictions? We shall see.