Army of the Dead: Plot, Trailer, Cast, Prequel and Anime Series

Zack Snyder treats us to an action-packed zombie-heist adventure in his new movie, Army of the Dead, which lands on Netflix on May 21! Netflix is building out its very own Army of the Dead expanded universe – with a prequel movie already filmed and an anime series on the way. Let’s take a look…

Army of the Dead plot 

So what’s Army of the Dead about? 

It focuses on mercenary Scott Ward (played by Dave Bautista) as he leads a team of fellow mercenaries in a daring Las Vegas Casino heist. Sounds simple enough? Oh yeah – there’s also been a zombie outbreak, so Sin City is full of the undead, and they’re all hungry for brains!

Army of the Dead trailer 

This colourful action-packed trailer, which Netflix dropped in April 2021, teasers one hell of a thrill-ride!

The cast 

Dave Bautista is the lead in this zombie action thriller. He was actually originally intended to appear in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Gunn wrote a part specifically for Bautista, having worked with him on both Guardians of the Galaxy installments (and the upcoming third). However, when Snyder offered him the lead in Army of the Dead, Bautista had to call up his old buddy and turn down the role in the The Suicide Squad, due to filming schedule clashes. 

Appearing in Army of the Dead alongside Bautista is English actress Ella Purnell (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and Churchill) who plays Scott’s daughter Kate, Mexican actress Ana de la Reguera (Narcos, Power and Goliath) who plays Scott’s friend, and German actor Matthias Schweighöfer, who plays safecracker Ludwig Dieter. 

Army of the Dead Prequel: Army of Thieves

If you watch Army of the Dead and find yourself desperate for more action and thrills, don’t worry – there’s more on the way! Filming has already wrapped on a prequel movie. Army of Thieves is being developed and produced by Zack Snyder, with Matthias Schweighöfer both directing and reprising his role as safecracker Ludwig Dieter! 

The film will also star Nathalie Emmanuel (who played fan favourite Missendei in Game of Thrones) and Pakistani-British comedian Guz Khan (who stars in Man Like Mobeen, and has appeared performed times on Live at the Apollo). 

Filmed in Germany, the film will be set in the earlier days of the zombie outbreak and judging by its name and the fact Schweighöfer’s safecracker character is the lead, we’re fairly confident it’ll focus around another heist. The film will land on Netflix, but no date has been confirmed yet. 

Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas Anime Series

One of Netflix’s most exciting upcoming animation projects comes in the form of an anime-styled prequel series to Army of the Dead. ‘Lost Vegas’ will follow on a younger Scott Ward and will focus on him and his comrades’ efforts to save members of the public during the early days of the zombie outbreak in Las Vegas. 

Most of the cast of the original movie will be returning to voice their characters in the animated series, including Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell and Ana de la Reguera.