Army of the Dead 2 is officially in the works, and it now has a title: Planet of the Dead. While plot details are scarce at the moment, director Zack Snyder has shared a few key details about what to expect from the upcoming sequel.
Spoilers for Army of the Dead incoming – after that movie ended with Vanderohe realizing he'd been bitten by Alpha zombie Zeus, it's looking like the sequel is going to feature some serious undead carnage. Plus, the time loop theory means some characters killed off in the first film could make a return (and Snyder has hinted that we'll be seeing one person in particular again).
Is Army of the Dead 2 happening?
Good news – Army of the Dead 2 is in the works, and has an official title (which Snyder revealed to Inverse): Planet of the Dead.
THR first reported the news, and also revealed that Stone Quarry Productions, the production company run by Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, and Wesley Coller, has signed a two year deal with Netflix – which includes the sci-fi movie Rebel Moon.
Army of the Dead 2: here's what Zack Snyder has said about the sequel
Before the sequel was announced, Snyder talked about his ideas for a follow-up. Speaking to Polygon, he teased "insane" plans for a sequel, and they all revolve around Vanderohe's flight into Mexico after being bitten.
"What we have planned is too crazy," the director said. "Once we knew Vanderohe was bit, and he's going to Mexico City, I was like, 'You know what’s gonna happen?' And then I just went on a tear. And by the time it ended, Shay [Hatten, co-writer] was like, 'OK.'"
Snyder also hinted to GamesRadar+ that Army of the Dead's time loop will be part of the sequel. "I'm a huge fan of this mythological understory, and what it does to the safes, [Hiroyuki Sanada's character] Bly Tanaka, all your time loop fun that you can have, there's a lot of cool enhancements that are baked in now," the director told us. "I can't wait to make the sequel to Army of the Dead, so that we can see how then all of those things manifest."
As for other characters who could be joining Vanderohe in the second movie, Snyder has teased that Matthias Schweighöfer's Dieter, the subject of Army of Thieves, may have survived his encounter with Alpha zombie Zeus – and could show up again in the sequel, along with Nathalie Emmanuel's Gwendoline.
"But the real adventure would be to see what happened to him when that safe door closed," Snyder told Inverse. "Did he get killed by Zeus or not? What happened? We don't see him die on camera, and there's still some time left. I won't tell you what happens in Army of the Dead 2 – aka Planet of the Dead – but let's just say that there's a chance Dieter survives. And there's a chance that brush with death would have caused him to want to find a jailed Gwendoline."
Lost Vegas – Army of the Dead's animated prequel series
In terms of the timeline, Army of the Dead arrives pretty late when it comes to the zombie outbreak. The remaining undead are all confined to Las Vegas – but what happened before then?
That's where Lost Vegas comes in, an animated series that sees Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, Tig Notaro, and Omari Hardwick all reprise their roles from the live-action Army of the Dead. It's set to focus on Scott Ward's origins as a soldier in the zombie wars, something that was only previously glimpsed in Army of the Dead's opening credits.
There are new characters galore, too, including the lead Rose (Joe Manganiello), Torrance (Christian Slater), and Boorman (Harry Lennix).
That's exciting, and two episodes are even going to be directed by Zack Snyder himself. Expect more info on those aliens too. Ana de la Reguera even teased to GamesRadar+ in a roundtable interview that watching Lost Vegas will only increase our appreciation of Army of the Dead.
"You'll see a lot of our backstory, how everything started, what was our relationship, what we used to do before. You'll get more context of our characters," de la Reguera says. "And I'm excited about that. Because then you see the movie again, you'll understand a lot more – more of the story and more of the relationship between them."
The series is expected to debut in spring 2022.
While we busily twiddle our thumbs, here are some of the best Netflix movies you could be checking out. There's also a spoiler-filled look at the Army of the Dead ending and a more focused dive into why Army of the Dead is blurry in some scenes.
