Before filmmaker Zack Snyder became known for gloomy adaptations of comic books, he first made his name with a remake of the 1978 horror classicDawn of the Dead. Now, Snyder is returning to his roots with the upcoming filmArmy of the Dead. In an interview, actor Garret Dillahunt explained why he is excited to be a part ofArmy of the Dead, which will explore “different ideas” regarding the zombie genre.
“It’s real different. I’m excited to see it too. To have different ideas about zombies, which is refreshing, I think, in a lot of ways. And I know I have to keep this so vague. I’m sorry. I didn’t know one of the things coming out now. Sometime next year. But they strayed away from a lot of normal zombie canon, that for some reason, everyone adheres to. And you’re like, ‘Maybe they don’t have to be that way. What if they were this way? Oh, that’s a nice wrinkle.‘Zombies are scary. I’ll tell you that. Zombies are really fast and scary.”
The idea of zombies being fast and agile as opposed to slow and shambling has already been explored in Snyder’sDawn of the Dead, and it seemsArmy of the Deadwill be making even more changes to zombie mythology.Zack Snyderhas described his new movie as a spiritual successor toDawn of the Dead, which will see a group of mercenaries attempting to loot a casino after a zombie outbreak sweeps the planet.
Netflixis betting big on the movie, with an anime series and prequel feature set to turn the film into a franchise. Meanwhile, Snyder’s most highly-anticipated upcoming offering will be coming to a rival streaming channel in 2021, whenZack Snyder’s Justice Leaguefinally debuts onHBO Max.
After decades of being relegated to the backdrop of the modern horror genre landscape, zombies have seen something of a resurgence in recent times. Apart from the popularity ofThe Walking Dead, movies likeZombielandandWorld War Zhave also explored the grim reality of a world beset by brain-eating monsters, often a product of a foreign, highly communicable disease that infects entire communities at a time.
In 2020, such a disease is not only possible but the actual grim reality for the entire world. As such, entertainment analysts are speculating that future zombie movies that are made in a post-COVID world will have to change their internal mythology so as not to upset audiences by hitting too close to reality. It will be interesting to see ifArmy of the Deadwill shy away from addressing the realities of a global health emergency as the world has experienced first-hand in 2020.
Based on a story by Zack Snyder and a screenplay from Joby Harold,Army of the Deadfeatures Dave Bautista, Garret Dillahunt, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Raul Castillo, Tig Notaro, Theo Rossi, and Ana de la Reguera. The film does not yet have a release date. This news arrives fromComicBook.com.
