The Army of the Dead franchise involves mysterious alien visitors, but they might not have come to take over Earth. Army of the Dead arrived on Netflix in May 2021 and marked chapter one in Zack Snyder's new zombie universe on the streamer. Combining zombie and heist movies into one, Army of the Dead put a new spin on the rise of the undead with a new breed of ravenous flesh-eaters.
In Army of the Dead, a team of mercenaries are recruited to execute a heist in a Las Vegas casino after the city is overrun by zombies. However, a more intelligent subset of zombies codenamed "Alphas" pose an unexpected threat to the team. The Alphas are led by the original Alpha zombie Zeus (Richard Cetrone), whose own origins can be traced back to Area 51.
Aside from introducing a new breed of zombies in the Alphas, Army of the Dead meshes other horror and sci-fi elements together. This includes the role of aliens in Army of the Dead's story, which is largely still not explored but clearly crucial. One might expect, especially within the context of a zombie movie, that aliens would show up right as mankind is at its weakest for an easy planetary conquest. However, with the clues available, there are hints that Army of the Dead's aliens have much more benevolent intentions for humanity.
The Aliens Could've Invaded, But Haven't
Army of the Dead opens with veiled but clear hints of the involvement of aliens in the story. To begin with, the military convoy transporting Zeus seen in the pre-credits prologue is departing from Area 51. The secretive military is well-known for conspiracy theories involving alien spacecrafts and other information being hidden from public view. Additionally, two spherical shapes can be seen in the evening sky in the opening, which then dart away from view as Zeus is transported away. Clearly, neither is human in origin, indicating the aliens of Army of the Dead making a quick cameo at the beginning.
Additionally, comments from Snyder himself also hint to the aliens being non-aggressive. Specifically, in an interview with The Non-Prophet Podcast, Snyder commented Area 51 includes "a mural that's like JFK shaking hands with an alien." This indicates a lot about just how long the aliens have been around. At the same time, while the aliens certainly have some connection to the eventual zombie plague that consumes Las Vegas, their intention doesn't seem to be to conquer Earth. Meanwhile, the hands of the humans operating Area 51 appear far less clean.
Government Experiments Played A Role In The Zombie Outbreak
While much about Army of the Dead's zombies remains an enigma, government experimentation definitely played a role in their creation. Army of the Dead's Alpha king, Zeus himself, is living (or rather unliving) proof of this, being held captive by a military escort from Area 51. Zeus even bears a set of military dog tags, signaling he was a test subject and perhaps even a soldier when he was still human. Even stronger evidence of sinister government experiments is found in the robot zombies of Army of the Dead.
Though they were only seen briefly in the film, the very nature of the robot zombies isn't something that could arise from a plague. One fleeting shot of a robot zombie's face being blown off also showed a glimpse at the high-tech metallic skull behind it. The animated prequel series Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas is set to go into more detail on the events before the film itself. This is likely to include the robot zombies origins. However, even it isn't needed to say with certainty that tinkering with deceased bodies and elements foreign to humans led to the creation of Zeus and the robot zombies. The question is where the aliens fit into all of this, and their role might be quite benign.
The Aliens Might've Been Trying To Help Humans
With technology far beyond what humanity has developed, Army of the Dead's aliens likely would've had little difficulty in launching a successful invasion. The fact that they chose not might seem curious when connecting them to zombies, but this isn't necessarily the case. Rather than an arriving to invade Earth, the aliens might've instead been trying to provide humanity aid of some kind. Given the nature of the zombie outbreak, both a cure to diseases and new technology of some kind seem likely. However, it was the U.S. government and Area 51's scientists who botched both.
Theoretically, the aliens of the Army of the Dead franchise might've provided the human scientists with a cure formula which they then tried to turn into an elixir of immortality. The robot zombies might've been the middle ground of this experiment, meant to be hybrids of man and machine into the formula could be perfected. Under this scenario, Zeus would've been the first successful case of a dead human revived with the modified cure first provided by the aliens. However, it may not have achieved the fully desired effect, making him into the first Alpha zombie. Once Zeus was unleashed upon Las Vegas, the experiment was beyond the control of the scientists who started it. With the possibility of a more benevolent alien presence in Army of the Dead, the aliens might've played an indirect role in the creation of Zeus. Nevertheless, a zombie plague coming from mankind's folly of trying to weaponize cures and technology the aliens provided shouldn't be blamed on them.
For having two installments already out in Army of the Dead and the prequel Army of Thieves, Snyder's new franchise is still playing things close to the vest. For the sequel Planet of the Dead, the question of the series' time loop (which Snyder consistently plays coy about) seems to be the biggest question on many fans minds. The aliens of Army of the Dead and their connection to the creation of the Alpha zombies still remains an unanswered question that the Army of the Dead franchise will address down the road. However, it might not offer the answer many are expecting. Army of the Dead's zombie plague might really be the fault of overzealous human scientists using extraterrestrial gifts in ways they weren't meant to be.