Why Zack Snyder's Army Of The Dead Franchise Was Canceled By Netflix

Summary Netflix quietly canceled Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead franchise, despite plans for expansion.

The franchise was meant to include prequels, sequels, and a connection to Rebel Moon, Snyder's newest franchise.

There may have been several reasons for Army of the Dead's cancelation, from Snyder's plans for Rebel Moon to Army of Thieves' lukewarm reception.

Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead franchise has been canceled by Netflix, despite plans for several new installments and a Rebel Moon connection. Zack Snyder's 2021 zombie apocalypse heist movie Army of the Dead was a fairly big hit. Army of the Dead had a star-studded cast, a popular director, and a novel combination of the zombie and heist movie genres. It had quite a few things going for it, and it seemed to have legs to become a long-running franchise, but those plans have recently been scrapped.

Army of the Dead was meant to be the first film in Zack Snyder's zombie universe, and it set up that franchise in a few key ways. The ending of Army of the Dead set up the rest of the franchise, and even the beginning of the film showed that there were several prequels that could have been made. It now seems that none of those stories will be told, as Snyder himself has revealed the fate of the Army of the Dead franchise.

Related Zack Snyder Explains Why There Will Never Be A Director’s Cut Of His 2021 Netflix Movie Director Zack Snyder explains why there is no need for a director's cut of his 2021 Netflix zombie movie Army of the Dead despite his track record.

Netflix Seems To Have "Quietly" Canceled Zack Snyder's Army Of The Dead Franchise

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Netflix now seems to have quietly canceled the Army of the Dead franchise, despite plans to continue expanding it. That news came from Zack Snyder and his wife and co-producer, Deborah, instead of an official announcement from Netflix, so it seems the streamer was trying to let the franchise's end go unnoticed. Prior to the couple's announcement, Netflix had mostly succeeded in that goal. The most recent movie in the Army of the Dead franchise, Army of Thieves, was released in 2021, and its future projects went unfinished.

What Army Of The Dead Projects Were In Development Before The Cancelation

Before its cancelation, Snyder himself called the future of the Army of the Dead franchise "very ambitious". The next project would have been the animated spinoff series Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas that was set to release in spring 2022. Snyder described Lost Vegas as a prequel that would have given some background information on a few of Army of the Dead's main cast during the beginning of the zombie outbreak. After the animated series, the franchise's future was less defined, though there were plans for additional films, most likely at least a direct sequel to the original Army of the Dead movie.

Related Everything We Know About Army Of The Dead: Lost Vegas Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead is getting an anime spinoff titled Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas. Here's what to expect from the Netflix prequel series.

Army of the Dead was also supposed to take place in the same universe as Snyder's other franchise, Rebel Moon. One Rebel Moon character was from Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, and she actually would have been a fairly important character in the animated series. Snyder explained that the zombie virus in Army of the Dead would have come from that Rebel Moon character's home planet, which would have opened the door to a future crossover between the two franchises. While Army of the Dead's future projects have been shelved, aspects of it could survive in Rebel Moon, thanks to that hidden connection.

Did Rebel Moon Hurt The Army Of The Dead Franchise?

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Though there's a connection between Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon, Snyder's newest franchise may have contributed to the cancelation of the former. Neither Netflix nor Snyder have given a definitive reason for Army of the Dead's cancelation yet, and Rebel Moon could have had a hand in it. It's possible that Snyder simply didn't have time for Army of the Dead anymore, given his plan to make six Rebel Moon movies in total. Snyder has also described Rebel Moon as one of his greatest passion projects in the past, meaning he may have just wanted to make it more than he did Army of the Dead.

Rebel Moon Rebel Moon is a multi-media franchise created by Zack Snyder that begins with the first film, Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire, released in 2023. The franchise follows a woman named Kora, who once worked for an authoritarian regime that now dominates the universe. To atone for the crimes she was complicit in, Kora heads across the galaxy to gather a team to fight back and free their worlds. Created by Zack Snyder First Film Rebel Moon Cast Sofia Boutella , Charlie Hunnam , Michiel Huisman , Djimon Hounsou , Doona Bae , Ray Fisher , Cleopatra Coleman , Jena Malone , Ed Skrein , Fra Fee , Anthony Hopkins Character(s) Kora (Rebel Moon) , General Titus , Kai (Rebel Moon) , Tarak , Darrian Bloodaxe , Devra Bloodaxe , Nemesis (Rebel Moon)

It's also possible that Netflix pulled the plug on Army of the Dead after Rebel Moon's lackluster reception, as the first two parts were both among Snyder's lowest rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes. Those review scores might have undermined Netflix's faith in Snyder, and instead of canceling a franchise that had just begun and was still actively getting millions of streams, it canceled the less current Army of the Dead instead. Army of the Dead is already four years old, and it would have been much more difficult to build excitement for it than for a new installment of Rebel Moon, regardless of critical reception.

Army of Thieves 4.0 Where to Watch stream

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buy Not available Not available Not available *Availability in US Army of Thieves is the 2021 prequel to Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead. Starring Matthias Schweighöfer, who also serves as the director, this heist comedy centers around Ludwig Dieter's quest to crack a series of legendary safes alongside a team of most-wanted criminals across Europe. It takes place at the exact same time the zombie apocalypse begins, back when Dieter was still known as Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert. Director Matthias Schweighöfer Release Date October 29, 2021 Studio(s) Netflix Distributor(s) Netflix Writers Shay Hatten Cast Nathalie Emmanuel , Matthias Schweighöfer , Guz Khan , Stuart Martin , Ruby O. Fee , Noémie Nakai , Jonathan Cohen Runtime 2h 7m prequel(s) Army of the Dead Budget 7 million Expand

While it's very possible that Rebel Moon contributed to Army of the Dead's cancelation, there were other factors that were just as important. The first Army of the Dead spinoff, Army of Thieves, received fairly average reviews, but it wasn't as popular as the original. Netflix may have viewed the lack of excitement around Army of Thieves as an indication that fans weren't interested in a larger franchise and preemptively scrapped future projects. Army of Thieves also wasn't directed by Zack Snyder, so Netflix may have decided that Snyder himself was more valuable and popular than the Army of the Dead franchise.

The most likely explanation for Army of the Dead's cancelation is a combination of several different factors. Zack Snyder's own personal goals for his career, his passion for Rebel Moon, and Netflix's business interests were probably enough to end Army of the Dead before it could turn into a fully-fledged franchise. As a standalone franchise, Army of the Dead seems to be done, but it could still live on in some way through Zack Snyder's future projects.