Watch The First 15 Minutes Of Army Of The Dead
Director Zack Snyder already has the hit 2021 re-release of "Zack Snyder's Justice League" to his name, which would be enough for most directors to consider this year a success. But just two months later, Snyder is ready to debut a new film: "Army of the Dead," which arrives on Netflix on May 21.
We're not hurting for a lack of zombie content these days, but "Army of the Dead" should manage to shamble away from the pack because it's also a heist movie. Dave Bautista stars as Scott Ward, a mercenary who puts together a crew to venture into Las Vegas to crack a vault with $200 million inside (via The Hollywood Reporter.) Bautista will be joined by an international cast that includes Omari Hardwick, Samantha Win, Ana de la Reguera, Matthias Schweighöfer, Raúl Castillo, Garret Dillahunt, and Hiroyuki Sanada. The cast also features standup comedian Tig Notaro in her first action movie role.
"Army of the Dead" also goes back to Snyder's roots. His feature directorial debut was the 2004 remake of George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead." With an experienced director, a unique premise, and an unconventional cast, "Army of the Dead" already has all the necessary ingredients for popcorn movie success. Today, Netflix streamed the first 15 minutes of the film live on YouTube. Based on the teaser, it looks like Snyder and co. might have the next great zombie movie.
You can check out the first 15 minutes of "Army of the Dead" below, then stick around for some discussion about the details.
The zombie apocalypse comes to Sin City
The 15-minute teaser starts off by showing how the zombiepocalypse in "Army of the Dead" began, and it happens in a very Las Vegas way. A newlywed couple is on the road, likely just coming from one of Vegas' drive-thru wedding chapels. They crash into a military convoy carrying a top secret specimen out of Area 51 (It's apparently both an alien and a zombie). The crash lets the specimen get loose, and the zombie outbreak is on.
This also gives us a glimpse of how the zombies in this film operate. As Snyder told Total Film (via ScreenRant), "Army of the Dead's" zombies aren't quite mindless drones; they have a level of intelligence similar to wolves or dogs, which allows them to communicate. Here, after the Prime Zombie turns its first few victims, it then directs them to follow its lead and advance on Vegas.
Then, there's an opening credits montage showing havoc across all sorts of iconic Vegas locations and situations. A boozy party gets interrupted when showgirls start biting. People playing slot machines run for their lives from the advancing hordes. Fighter jets bomb the strip. There's an undead Elvis impersonator. In other words, there's everything you'd expect from a zombie movie set in Vegas.
Finally, some of the shots from the montage also serve as character introductions. Scott leads his daughter Kate through a mob. Vanderohe slices through zombies with a circular saw. Cruz commandeers a mounted machine gun and blasts dozens more.
There's a ton of action packed into these 15 minutes, and the plot hasn't even started yet. May 21 can't arrive soon enough.