Zack Snyder's recent Army of the Dead is just the start of a planned universe on Netflix, with one of the announced follow-ups being an animated series called Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas. The series will be a prequel, revealing what happened between the start of the zombie outbreak in Las Vegas and the ill-fated heist attempt hours before a nuclear bomb struck the city. While we don't have a confirmed release date yet, a lot of information about Lost Vegas has been confirmed, including a broad plot, its cast, and production details.
Army of the Dead is set in a universe where a car crash in Nevada unleashes a small group of zombies into the world, who quickly begin multiplying. The zombies quickly overtake nearby Las Vegas, but unlike other movies in the genre, the outbreak remains geographically limited. Army of the Dead's zombies are also different from similar movies, being faster and more individual, further separating the story from established zombie tropes.
The Army of the Dead movie has a fairly limited scope, featuring a team of mercenaries lead by Dave Bautista's Scott Ward attempting to obtain a huge amount of cash from a casino vault. The movie introduces concepts such as the "alpha" and "queen" zombies who rule over the horde, as well as outside interests looking to exploit the zombie outbreak for their own benefit. The movie ends with its storylines seemingly resolved, with most of the heist crew dead and Las Vegas destroyed, but the ending hints that the zombie plague may not be finished just yet.
Army of the Dead could kick-start a new "Snyderverse" of properties telling the story of the zombie outbreak. Lost Vegas was one of two prequels ordered before the movie was even released, alongside Army of Thieves, which reveals the backstory of Matthias Schweighofer's safecracker Ludwig Dieter. Recent news has revealed more details of what Lost Vegas could look like, and how it will relate to the main Army of the Dead story.
Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas Story Details
The Army of the Dead movie unfolds over an extended montage of the zombie outbreak spreading across Las Vegas. The sequence is full of images both humorous (zombie showgirls) and horrifying (paratroopers descending directly into a horde of hungry shamblers) and is one of the highlights of the movie. Army of the Dead's opening scenes quickly establish a chronology, but there is still a lot that happens off-screen - a gap that Lost Vegas aims to fill in.
Army of the Dead tells the viewer that Scott Ward is a member of an elite group that has conducted many heroic feats fighting zombies and rescuing people from Las Vegas. Lost Vegas could depict some of these incidents and give the audience a better idea of who Scott Ward was before the heist. It could also contain a more in-depth portrayal of how the zombie outbreak spread throughout the city, and the various efforts the government took to contain it before resorting to a nuclear bomb.
In a recent interview, Deborah Snyder has hinted that Lost Vegas could deal more with the origins of the zombies. The government truck that contained the creatures was from Area 51, leading many to speculate that Army of the Dead's zombies are alien in nature. There are also suggestions that Zeus may have been created with bioengineered DNA. The series could also address some of the unexplained plot elements in the movie, such as the zombies that appear to be robots.
Zack Snyder has also suggested in an interview that Lost Vegas could be the launching point for an Army of the Dead sequel. Based on the ending of Army, a sequel could see the zombie plague go international. The prequel series could also introduce characters who will return in future sequels.
Lost Vegas Cast and Characters
Fans of Army of the Dead's extensive cast will be happy to hear that many actors from the movie will be resuming their roles as voice actors in Lost Vegas. Bautista, Omari Hardwick, Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, and Tig Notaro will all return as members of Ward's squad and residents of the refugee camp around Las Vegas.
There will also be a number of new characters and cast members, some voiced by big names. Joe Manganiello, who played Deathstroke in Snyder's Justice League, will play a new lead character named Rose. Other confirmed newcomers include Christian Slater, Vanessa Hudgens, Jena Malone, Nolan North, Ross Butler, Yetide Badaki, and Ray Porter. Slater, Hudgens, and Malone are all established on-screen names, while North is best known as a voice actor in video game series like Uncharted and Destiny. Another Snyder veteran, Ray Porter, played Darkseid in the Justice League Snyder cut. The new characters could also appear in an upcoming live-action sequel - although based on Army of the Dead, any of them getting through the series alive is far from a sure thing.
Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas Production Details & Episode Number
Lost Vegas is being produced by Meduzarts Animation. The digital animation studio is best known for working on video games such as Marvel's Spider-Man and Mortal Kombat X. There will be six episodes of Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, with the length of each episode currently unknown. Snyder himself will direct two episodes, while two will be helmed by showrunner Jay Oliva. Oliva is a longtime Snyder collaborator, serving as a storyboard artist on Man of Steel and Army of the Dead, and also produced the recent Netflix animated series Trese. The director of the remaining two episodes is currently unknown.
So far there is no announced release date for Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas. Unlike Army of Thieves, which was filmed last year, Lost Vegas is still in production, and the lack of images released suggests that much work is still left to be done. This status means that it could be wise not to expect the animated series in 2021. But when it does arrive, Lost Vegas could be a treat for Army of the Dead fans, resolving lingering questions and setting up a potential sequel.