Spoilers follow for Army of the Dead and Army of Thieves.
Army of the Dead 2, the sequel to Zack Snyder's zombie heist movie on Netflix, appears to be moving ahead. That's right, a follow-up story seems to be in development and, recently, we learned what its official title is: Planet of the Dead.
It's unsurprising that Army of the Dead 2 is in the works. The first movie is one of the most-watched original movies on Netflix, so the streamer's chief creative team has been taking (and will likely continue to want to take) advantage of that.
We've already received a prequel film – Army of Thieves – which arrived on Netflix on October 29. Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, an animated prequel series, is also set to land in early 2022.
Still, it looks like we'll be getting an Army of the Dead sequel at some point. Snyder has another Netflix movie in development – Rebel Moon – that's likely to arrive before Planet of the Dead. So we may be waiting a while for the latter to come to the streaming giant.
We should say that Planet of the Dead hasn't officially been greenlit by Netflix yet. But, based on comments Snyder has made recently, it's only a matter of time before they do.
Regardless, if you're looking for everything worth knowing about Army of the Dead 2, you've come to the right place. Below, we've collated all of the information you need to know about Planet of the Dead, including its potential plot, possible cast and more.
A word of warning: spoilers follow for Army of the Dead and Army of Thieves. If you haven't seen them, turn back now.
- Check out our spoiler-free review of Army of the Dead
- Army of the Dead ending explained: is Dieter alive?
- These are the best Netflix movies to watch right now
Army of the Dead 2 release date
Army of the Dead 2 release date: when is it?
As we mentioned, Netflix hasn’t greenlit a sequel, so there’s no release date yet. Given Army of the Dead's popularity, however, it's likely this is a case of ‘when’ and not ‘if’.
It seems that Army of the Dead 2 is happening, though. In July 2021, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Snyder was thrashing out the details for a sequel with head writer Shay Hatten after the former had signed a two-year exclusivity deal with Netflix.
Since then, Snyder has spoken about his plans for a sequel. Chatting to Inverse as part of the Army of Thieves press tour, Snyder confirmed that Army of the Dead 2 was a real thing. Snyder didn't elaborate on its plot but he did reveal that it would be called Planet of the Dead.
But Army of the Dead 2 won't be arriving any time soon. Snyder and company are working on Rebel Moon, their Twilight of the Gods TV series, and other Army-verse projects before attentions may turn to an official sequel.
We'll keep you posted on this front when we hear more.
Army of the Dead 2 cast
Army of the Dead 2 cast: who could return?
There are only a few survivors by the movie’s end, so there won’t be many returning cast members for its sequel. Depending on where Planet of the Dead is set (more on this below), we might not even see those individuals reprise their roles either.
If any of them do return, these could be the only candidates:
- Omari Hardwick as Vanderohe
- Ella Purnell as Kate Ward
- Matthias Schweighöfer as Ludwig Dieter
- Hiroyuki Sanada as Bly Tanaka
Army of the Dead 2 villain
Army of the Dead 2 villain: will Vanderohe be the new zombie king?
It’s a big possibility. After the US government’s nuclear strike destroys Las Vegas (and the zombies within), Vanderohe surprisingly emerges from the rubble. He’d been locked in the underground casino vault from earlier in the film and, as a result, survived the bomb’s blast.
Escaping with two large bags of cash, Vanderohe travels to Utah and bribes one of the state airport’s staff into renting him a private jet. Not long after he boards the plane, however, Vanderohe feels nauseous and heads to the jet’s bathroom to clean himself up.
It’s here where Vanderohe realizes he was bitten during his confrontation with Zeus (Richard Cetrone). The infection is spreading throughout his body, and it won’t be long before he succumbs to it and becomes an alpha zombie.
As the pilot tells Vanderohe to return to his seat so they can depart, Vanderohe laughs at the irony of his situation – he could be the cause for the next outbreak when the plane arrives at its destination: Mexico City.
The screen fades to black moments later, so audiences are unaware of Vanderohe’s ultimate fate. Speaking to TechRadar ahead of Army of the Dead's release, Hardwick suggested that he would be keen to explore what happens to Vanderohe if a sequel is greenlit.
“I can’t disclose that [the possibilities for a sequel], but I think everyone would be excited as I would if there was an opportunity,” he said. “If it does happen, you could get to see my character get down in a new way. But I can’t necessarily speak about the way it looks, or the form or fashion you’ll see Vanderohe in the future.”
In a separate chat with Collider, Hardwick was even more ambiguous about Army of the Dead’s final scene and what it could mean for a sequel.
“I think we leave my face in the form of a question mark," he said. “And I think that’s where I tried to play it, this space of being interrogative and not a period. I didn’t want to be declarative; I wanted to be a question mark at the end. If my face could be compared to anything of exclamation, it was that of a question mark.”
However, in an interview with Esquire, Snyder confirmed that Hardwick would be the new ‘Zeus’ if Planet of the Dead becomes a reality.
Asked about plans for the potential follow-up film’s antagonist, Snyder said: “Yes, Omari would be the new Zeus – and a very scary Zeus.”
Army of the Dead 2 plot
Army of the Dead 2 plot: what will it be about?
Most likely another zombie apocalypse. Vanderohe is certain to be the cause of a new outbreak in Mexico’s capital, so this would be the likely backdrop to whatever Army of the Dead 2’s plot would be.
Speaking to The Film Junkee post-release, Snyder revealed why he had chosen Mexico City to be the next ‘ground zero’ for a zombie outbreak. The reason? Because, in Snyder’s words, “you aren’t building a wall around that place” – a far cry from the US government’s ability to wall off Las Vegas with numerous shipping containers.
A new zombie apocalypse could allow for the return of certain Army of the Dead characters, too. For one, Kate could be drafted in to give her expertise on the situation. She’s the only surviving member, after all, and any help she could provide would be vital in attempting to eradicate Vanderohe’s new zombie army.
One very interesting prospect, though, could be the return of Dieter. As we speculated in our Army of the Dead ending explained article, we don’t actually see him die at Zeus’ hands.
If Dieter survived Zeus’ attack and the nuclear strike somehow, his return in Planet of the Dead would make for a very interesting plot point. Dieter and Vanderohe’s blossoming bromance was one of Army of the Dead’s highlights, and it would be fascinating to see how Dieter would react to Vanderohe being the cause for a new outbreak. We’d be eager to witness how Dieter deals with this revelation and whether he’d have the courage to kill his former friend if it came down to it.
I’m happy for Zack Snyder. He found a studio that understands him and is actually excited to work with him. ARMY OF THE DEAD 2 HERE WE GO! pic.twitter.com/o4L7ZKAAwyJuly 21, 2021
In fact, during his chat with The Film Junkee (per ScreenRant), Snyder teased the prospect of Dieter’s survival. In Snyder’s view, it has to do with the horror movie genre’s trope about off-screen character deaths, saying: “We don’t see him die, that’s true. That’s fair. You would say in a horror movie if we don’t see you die… by the rules of horror… [you haven’t died].”
Snyder doubled-down on the prospect of Dieter's survival during his chat with Inverse, too: "Did he get killed by Zeus or not? What happened? We don't see him die on camera, and there's still some time left. I won't tell you what happens, but let's just say that there’s a chance Dieter survives. And there's a chance that brush with death would have caused him to want to find a jailed Gwendoline."
As for what else Army of the Dead 2’s plot could cover, there’s the prospect of explaining what those robot zombies are about.
Don’t know what we’re referring to? Rewatch the scene where Mikey Guzman (Raúl Castillo) dies. Before he gets overwhelmed by the undead, you’ll see him shoot a solitary zombie in one of Snyder’s classic slow-motion shots. As it falls to the ground and, as the camera cuts away, you’ll notice it has a Terminator-esque face.
What does this mean? Snyder has confirmed (via ComicBook.com) that robot zombies are a part of this universe and hinted that their role in proceedings is an intriguing one.
Did the US government create these robot zombies so that they could keep tabs on the real zombies and how they operate? It would certainly tie into the plot point where the government plans to build their own zombie army – or the ‘ultimate biological weapon’, as Bly Tanaka’s head of security Martin (Garret Dillahunt) calls them.
Building robot zombies to spy on Las Vegas’ undead hordes, then, isn’t out of the realms of possibility. It would be interesting to see how they factor into this universe more in Army of the Dead’s sequel. Admittedly, this is something that could be explored in one of its prequel projects (more on these below). If there’s no room to examine them in the prequel properties, though, Planet of the Dead would be a good place to do so.
As for the time loop theory that circulated online after Army of the Dead's release, Snyder teased that there would some element of time travel in its sequel.
Speaking to GamesRadar, Snyder said: "I'm a huge fan of this mythological understory. All your time loop fun that you can have, there's a lot of cool enhancements that are baked in now. I can't wait to make the sequel to Army of the Dead, so that we can see how then all of those things manifest."
Army of the Dead 2 trailer
Army of the Dead 2 trailer: is one available to watch?
Unsurprisingly, no. Army of the Dead 2 is some way off from being filmed, let alone a trailer being released. If that changes, we'll let you know.
Army of the Dead 2 timeline
Army of the Dead 2 timeline: how could the prequel projects affect it?
They’re unlikely to impact Army of the Dead 2’s story. Both projects tie into the events of the first film, so they shouldn’t directly influence Planet of the Dead.
Or so we thought. As Snyder alludes to in the 'plot' section of our hub above, if Dieter survived Army of the Dead's events, he could go looking for Nathalie Emmanuel's Gwendoline, who was imprisoned during Army of Thieves. He may search for her in Planet of the Dead, then, or maybe a Army-verse film that takes place between Army of the Dead and its sequel.
As for the six-episode animated series – Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas – it’ll follow the events that precede Army of the Dead. The TV show will explore the backstories of Army of the Dead’s cast, including Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) and Maria Cruz (Ana de la Reguera) during the initial outbreak. It’ll also introduce audiences to new characters such as Joe Manganiello’s Rose and Harry Lennix’s Boorman.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, de la Reguera said: "You’ll get to learn what’s Cruz’s backstory, how she and Dave Bautista’s character, Scott Ward, met, what we were doing before... We were war veterans and all of that. But you’ll get to see more of the action before [the opening of Snyder’s film shows a zombie “patient zero” and the ultimate undead takeover of Sin City], how we were fighting zombies before. I can’t reveal much but it’s a lot of fun."
“Our movie takes place after the pandemic, they’ve contained the zombies to Vegas, but we don’t really talk about where it comes from,” Snyder added to IndieWire. “Where did this pathogen come from? How did this all happen? And we see our team and that they had been on these rescue missions. We see some flashbacks, what they were doing, but we don’t really know more, so the anime series is a great way to find out the origin of this.”
Army of the Dead 2: does it deserve another outing?
Yes. We said that Army of the Dead was Snyder’s “best movie yet”, and we stand by that verdict.
Army of the Dead topped the Nielsen streaming charts for the week of May 17 to May 23 (per The Hollywood Reporter), and racked up 913 million minutes of viewers' time following its May 21 release.
So it makes sense that a sequel is in early development. These prequel projects will give us more stories set in the Army of the Dead universe, but it would be fun to see where Snyder takes his embryonic universe in Planet of the Dead.
If his plans are extravagant as the director makes them to be, we could be in for a wild ride with Army of the Dead 2. Netflix, too, sounds like the perfect home for his future productions, given that the streaming giant has provided him with as much creative freedom as possible.
It may be some time before Planet of the Dead arrives, but we're already excited to see how it plays out. It's time to give it the go ahead, Netflix.
