Things are not going well for Zack Snyder over at Netflix. Here comes word that they’ve “quietly canceled” his planned “Army of the Dead” sequels and animated series. (via The Wrap).
However, hold on, Snyder’s producer says the “Army of the Dead” franchise “isn’t entirely dead” as there will be a themed experience coming to the Six Flags theme parks this Halloween. “It’s going to be a really cool experience,” she added.
It’s not like 2021’s “Army of the Dead” wasn’t a success either. It nabbed some great viewing numbers. In its first 28 days on Netflix, “Army of the Dead” was watched by 75 million households and became the ninth most-watched Netflix Original movie in the streamer’s history. The now-canceled sequel also had a title, “Planet of the Dead.”
Snyder’s losing streak in 2023 and 2024, beginning with the release of four ‘Rebel Moon’ movies, including two director’s cuts, released within eight months of each other, has destroyed his stock in the industry. The movies were universally disliked by subscribers and critics. Nobody now will dare put Snyder in charge of another franchise.
So, what’s next for Snyder? Last month, the filmmaker admitted to CinemaBlend that he was actively working on a smaller movie, with not much VFX.
“I’m trying to do a small movie right now. I’m not going to say what it is, but I was, like, can I just do a movie without any visual effects in it for like five minutes? Then, I’ll go back to the insanity […] I’m supposed to be writing this little movie and that’s kind of what I want to do.”
It’ll be interesting to see how a scaled-back Zack Snyder movie will look like. This is a man with no restraint, with a go big or go home attitude in his filmmaking, and a resume that includes “300,” “Rebel Moon,” Sucker Punch,” “Watchmen,” “Batman vs Superman” and “Justice League.”