Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead prequel gets a title: Army of Thieves. Army of the Dead is set to hit Netflix this May with a vast ensemble cast, some of whom will be appearing in the prequel film. Matthias Schweighöfer, who will star as Ludwig Dieter in both Army of the Dead and Army of Thieves, is taking over directing duties for the prequel. Joining him in the film are castmates Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones), Guz Khan, Ruby O. Fee, Stuart Martin (Miss Scarlet and the Duke), and Jonathan Cohen.
Army of Thieves is set to follow the characters from Army of the Dead prior to their dangerous heist in the Nevada desert. The film will take place during the early days of the viral outbreak that leads to the zombie apocalypse. Netflix's confidence in Army of the Dead and its franchise potential is clear - in addition to the prequel film, the streamer is also producing an Army of the Dead animated prequel series, the details for which are scarce.
With Army of the Dead getting a brand new trailer, Snyder has finally revealed the title of the upcoming prequel film during a Q&A after the release of the Army of the Dead trailer. Army of Thieves will focus heavily on Ludwig Dieter's backstory. Snyder says the focus of the film will be on how Dieter fell in love with cracking safes and reveal how the safe in Army of the Dead is significant to the character.
In some ways, it sounds like Army of Thieves could be more of a traditional zombie film, taking place during the initial outbreak and following the characters as they grapple with a changing world. Still, Snyder is not one for tradition so it certainly seems like there will be a twist to film akin to the one recently revealed in Army of the Dead. It's unclear if the evolved zombies shown in the trailer for Army of the Dead will play a part in Army of Thieves or not, but it's certainly not out of the question.
Zack Snyder's return to the zombie genre after his Dawn of the Dead remake is clearly shaping up to be a big event. Army of the Dead will be the first film Snyder has directed outside of the DCEU since 2011's Sucker Punch. Since then, the director has shored up a legion of fans dedicated to his vision. Those fans are the ones that helped the Snyder Cut reach near-mythical status before its HBO Max release and it's safe to assume that they'll be turning out in droves for both Army of the Dead and Army of Thieves.
Source: Zack Snyder
