Ella Purnell is leading a horde of new recruits for Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead.

The Netflix movie, announced at the start of the year, marks a return to the zombie sub-genre for the 300 director, who made his debut with the remake Dawn of the Dead. Army of the Dead will mix undead genre thrills with a heist film, taking place during the aftermath of a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, as a group of mercenaries assemble to pull off a robbery inside a quarantine zone.

Written by Joby Harold and Zack Snyder and Shay Hatten, and produced by The Stone Quarry’s Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder and Wesley Coller, the film stars the already announced Dave Bautista. Now, he’s getting some co-stars with the arrival lof: Ella Purnell (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Sweetbitter), Ana De La Reguera (Everything, Everything, Goliath), Theo Rossi (Luke Cage, Sons of Anarchy) and Huma Qureshi (Kaala, Viceroy’s House, Gangs of Wasseypur, Badlapur).

Principal photography will begin in July.

Army of the Dead: Dave Bautista to star in Zack Snyder’s Netflix horror

6th April 2019

Dave Bautista will star in Army of the Dead, Zack Snyder’s new Netflix horror.

The movie, announced earlier this year, marks a return to the zombie sub-genre for the 300 director, who made his debut with the remake Dawn of the Dead. Army of the Dead will mix undead genre thrills with a heist film, taking place during the aftermath of a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, as a group of mercenaries assemble to pull off a robbery inside a quarantine zone.

The project was first set up at 2007 at Warner Bros., but Netflix is moving at a pace on the production, with filming to begin this summer with a sizeable budget. Now, it’s got a star to go with it, with Bautista joining the project. It follows his role as Drax in the MCU, including Avengers: Endgame, and a role in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, which is currently shooting.

Snyder will direct and product Army of the Dead, alongside Deborah Snyder, through their production company Stone Quarry. Wesley Coller, of Stone Quarry, will also produce, with Shay Hatten co-writing the script with Snyder.

Zack Snyder to direct Army of the Dead for Netflix

30th January 2019

Zack Snyder will direct Army of the Dead for Netflix. The movie, announced today, will see the Dawn of the Dead helmer head back to zombie territory, with an action thriller that fuses the horror genre with a heist flick.

Snyder, who was directing Justice League before he stepped back from the camera for a family tragedy, will direct and also produce the project alongside his wife, Deborah Snyder, through their production company Stone Quarry. Wesley Coller, of Stone Quarry, will also produce.

Scripted by Joby Harold, from a story by Snyder, the film is set during the aftermath of an undead outbreak in Las Vegas, and follows a group of mercenaries who assemble to pull off a heist inside a quarantined zone. The project was first set up way back at 2007 at Warner Bros., but Netflix is wasting no time in moving ahead with production, with shooting set to begin this summer on a budget of potentially up to $90 million.

“There are no handcuffs on me at all with this one,” Snyder told THR in an interview. “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.”

The project marks a reunion between Snyder with Netflix’s movie head Scott Stuber, the exec at Universal who gave him his feature debut break on the Dawn of the Dead remake. Sources tell THR that Netflix specifically sought out the project from Warner Bros., which, while the terms of the deal are unknown, marks another way in which Netflix could disrupt the traditional Hollywood system, if studios have similarly long-held projects they are looking to sell on.

“I love to honor canon and the works of art,” he added, “but this is the opportunity to find a purely joyful way to express myself though a genre. 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].”

“When the movie gets super big, you get pushed away from the camera,” he continued. “And in the last few years, I’ve had a reconnection with photography. This movie will be a chance to get the camera in hand.”