Director Zack Snyder says that Army of the Dead 2 aka Planet of the Dead may be a sci-fi action movie with horror elements. Snyder debuted Army of the Dead this past May on Netflix, the first of many planned entries in the franchise. Starring Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Tig Notaro, Theo Rossi, and Garret Dillahunt, the story follows a zombie outbreak that was contained to the city of Las Vegas, which is set to be leveled by a nuclear bomb, but not before a team of professionals are sent in to recover a massive amount of money from a secret safe.

Army of the Dead kicked off what will be the first of many films set within that universe, one of which, Army of Thieves, was just released and currently sits at #1 on Netflix. In addition, Snyder has already announced a prequel animation show, Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, which will be directed by Jay Oliva. The director recently signed a deal with Netflix to direct a sequel to Army of the Dead, as well as his currently-in-development sci-fi film, Rebel Moon, which recently cast Sofia Boutella as the lead. Snyder has said that the sequel would be potentially called Planet of the Dead and teased that some characters that are thought dead may well return for the film.

Related: How Army Of Thieves Sets Up Zack Snyder’s Army Of The Dead

In an interview with Variety, Snyder now says that Army of the Dead 2 would further play with the genre mash-up model, possibly being a sci-fi action film with horror elements added in. The first film is a big of a genre mash-up as well, mixing up the zombie genre with both the action and heist genres, pulling in a number of inspirations, including movies like Escape From New York and Aliens. However, it seems that Snyder still wants to retain the heist aspect, which has been prevalent in both Army of the Dead and Army of Thieves. Here's his quote on the subject:

"Shay [Hatten] and I have been talking about the straight sequel to “Army of the Dead” being possibly a sci-fi actioner with horror elements. So that’s a fun genre, probably with a heist at its center."

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In terms of how the Army of the Dead franchise will operate going forward, it appears that the genre mash-up aspect is a big part of Snyder's plans. The time loops explored in Army of Thieves will very much be in play, with the cinematic part of the universe being "front and center" for the franchise. Snyder says that the franchise is "very self-aware" and that both audiences and filmmakers are ready and educated enough to appreciate what it has to offer going forward. "We’re standing by to have fun with the genres we love and deconstruct them, almost from a self-aware cinematic angle, which makes this universe of movies really interesting. It’s movies for people who love movies, without letting anyone off the hook as far as the drama and suspense." Still, fans should not be afraid of losing the walking dead from the series, as Snyder added, "And I promise there will be zombies."

With Snyder's DC projects seemingly complete at this point (albeit with hope from fans to see it continue), after releasing his cut of Justice League on HBO Max this past March, the filmmaker appears to be all in on creating new and original IP to house at Netflix, embracing the creative freedom and control that he's had to fight for from the beginning. Rebel Moon was once a Star Wars pitch that didn't happen, and Army of the Dead is a completely original idea that's now blossomed into multiple projects within a franchise that could seemingly continue forever. In many ways, the genre mash-up aspect of Army of the Dead 2 is a great way for Snyder to tinker in all genres, rather than committing to just one, which feels like the right set of circumstances for the filmmaker, who has created some of the more visually exciting movies of the past 15 years.

Next: Every Army of the Dead Character Cameo In Army of Thieves

Source: Variety