Netflix has announced its expansion plans for, as the company puts it, a “Universe” of Snyder’s Army of the Dead, which, itself, is a sequel to his 2004 breakthrough, Dawn of the Dead. While Snyder—who directed and co-wrote the upcoming film—will certainly remain the creative fulcrum for the follow-up offerings, some interesting choices were made to handle the day-to-day duties. The prequel movie and anime series will be written by Shay Hatten, who co-wrote the Army of the Dead screenplay with Snyder and Joby Harold. Along with that credit, Hatten comes into the project having co-written John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and TV movie (Future) Cult Classic. As Snyder expresses of the Army of the Dead universe plans in a statement: Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas will be the title of the accompanying anime series, which is also set as a prequel to Snyder’s initial Netflix franchise offering. The series will be overseen by showrunner Jay Oliva (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and upcoming Netflix animated series Trese), who is also directing two episodes, joined in the latter capacity by Snyder himself, who will direct two episodes of his own. Like the prequel movie, the Stone Quarry trio of Snyder, Snyder and Coller will executive-produce the anime, joined in that capacity by Oliva and Hatten. Netflix has yet to reveal a release date for Army of the Dead other than the window of a 2021 premiere on the streaming platform. Consequently, no dates were revealed as of yet for the prequel movie or anime series.
