WARNING: Spoilers for Army of the Dead.
Zack Snyder, director of the new Netflix film Army of the Dead, commented recently about possible clues in the film that could point to a time loop theory. The movie debuted May 21st on Netflix, and it has garnered a solid reception with a current 71% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Aside from directing the film, Snyder tackled cowriting it from his own story, being the director of photography, and working as a producer. The film stars Dave Bautista, Tig Notaro, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Garret Dillahunt, and Ana de la Reguera.
The plot of the film revolves around a group of mercenaries trying to pull off a heist in the aftermath of a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas. Bautista's Scott Ward is tasked with putting a team together to crack a vault within the quarantined city, and they are working with a clock ticking down to a nuclear strike that will wipe the city off the map. When complications ensue, they find themselves in a fight for their lives against an army of the undead. However, some think there is more to the story.
In TheFilmJunkee's Vodka Stream, Snyder spoke about two moments in the film that point toward the characters possibly being stuck in a time loop and making it a bit farther each time. He mentions the scene around the casino table and then trails off a bit about another moment. However, he did preface it with a warning that it wasn't all true. Snyder said:
"I will also say that, like... there's a chance - and I'm not saying this is 100% true, and in some ways it's not - but the group at the table, I mean, it's pretty subtle, but that's them also at the table as well as... they get farther every time. Like, is this the time they made it all the way to the money?"
The other moment Snyder was likely eluding to before he trailed off was probably the exchange between Dieter and Vanderohe near the vault traps where they talked about the resemblance of the dead bodies to the group members. Vanderohe is merely trying to scare Dieter, but he's not wrong about the eerie similarities. The scene at the table refers to the team finding evidence of another group previously attempting the heist they're in the process of trying to pull off. They quickly brush this off as their employer trying the heist before and the team failing. Viewers may not have put too much thought into these scenes, but it sounds like there could be a deeper meaning to it all.
If Snyder's statement turns out to be true, the characters really are talking about themselves in each moment. Why they would be stuck in the time loop or how they could break free is anyone's guess, as the film doesn't dig into this theory. While the world is familiar with time loop films such as Groundhog Day or Edge of Tomorrow, the concept would be an interesting way to set up a sequel. Snyder is no stranger to plotting ahead, as made clear with his work on the DCEU. It's possible that Snyder is trying to work that same magic with Army of the Dead, but it's unclear if Army of the Dead 2 will ever happen.
Source: TheFilmJunkee
