Zack Snyder Finally Explains the Biggest Plothole in ‘Army of the Dead’ By Revealing the Netflix Film’s Surprise Link to ‘Rebel Moon’
- Zack Snyder reveals that Rebel Moon & Army of the Dead can exist in a same universe.
- An X user elaborated on Zack Snyder's point explaining the cause of the zombie plague in Army of the Dead.
- Zack Snyder and Shay Hatten are working on the sequel of Army of the Dead.
2021’s post-apocalyptic zombie heist movie, Army of the Dead, directed by ace filmmaker Zack Snyder from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shay Hatten and Joby Harold. The story follows a group of mercenaries who plan a heist in a Las Vegas casino during a zombie apocalypse. Snyder reportedly conceived the idea of the movie as a successor to his 2004’s Dawn of the Dead.
Army of the Dead, upon its’ release, received a positive response from the audience as well as the critics. It was, although praised for its humor, at the same time criticized for runtime and plot. However, according to Nielsen, the movie became the most streamed title in the United States in the first week of its release. Zack Snyder has finally revealed the connection between the Army of the Dead and his Rebel Moon.
Zack Snyder revealed the Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon connection
Back in April, during a conversation with ComicBook.com, former DC Universe filmmaker Zack Snyder revealed that he has been setting up a shared universe between his two Netflix projects, Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon. Ahead of the release of Rebel Moon, he said,
Rebel Moon and Army of the Dead definitely can exist in the same universe. I think I’ve said that, but there’s a character in a movie when they go into—I don’t know if I have talked about this—when Kora and Gunnar go into the bar and there’s a Xanadite, the Xanadite is that blue girl with glowing markings on her—she is directly from the Army animated series that we never finished.
He further explained that where the zombie plague comes from is a planet called Xanadu—so they go to Xanadu and the Xanadites, and the girl Kora and Gunner [Rebel Moon] met is one of them. Snyder noted that there is an inter-dimensional thing they go through, which makes it seem like there is a chance of some weird mashup between the two universes.
A user on X went ahead to elaborate on Snyder’s saying, stating that the species that the audience sees in Rebel Moon are known as Xanadites, who are the same species that arrive on Earth and infected the Area 51 soldier that became Zeus, the Alpha in Army of the Dead.
The user further mentioned that Snyder had previously shared that an early mission was meant to be explored in the prequel animated series Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, which unfortunately never made it to the screens. They noted that the filmmaker explained that [Ward and the other mercenaries] walk through a portal that leads them to Xanadu, where they meet Queen Meeru. The X user writes,
The current theory is that the Xanadite blood or something from their planet was used to make super soldiers but led to the creation of Zeus. However, Alpha zombies retained a level of intelligence.
They pointed out that the filmmaker had mentioned in a deleted scene from the script of Army of the Dead that Zeus’ son is going to take over the world with his army of zombies. Army of the Dead stars Dave Bautista, Ana de la Reguera, Ella Purnell, and more.
Zack Snyder gives an update on the Army of the Dead sequel
The response to Army of the Dead encouraged the filmmaker to work on the sequel titled Planet of the Dead. In his interview with Games Radar in December last year, the filmmaker decided to tease fans by giving updates about the movie.
I am a huge fan of the Army universe. We were working on—and are trying to get back up—our Army animated series, which was really cool. We recorded the whole thing; we recorded all the voices.
He added that his idea for Army 2 is Planet of the Dead, which technically scales up in a more ‘crazy way’. Snyder, however, at the time noted that he is focusing on running parallel courses with two monsters but is very excited to know that people are interested in knowing about the Army universe.
During an interview with Den of Geek, he said that he and Shay Hatten have written treatments and they know exactly what they will do but are not quite there yet. He added that they just have to go to Netflix and tell them their vision with the movie, adding the possibility of a crossover between Rebel Moon and the Army of the Dead universe. He is optimistic about the sequel just like fans.
Army of the Dead is streaming on Netflix along with Rebel Moon, both Parts One and Two.
