Zack Snyder’s scrapped animated show,Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, has received a status update from producer Jay Oliva. The franchise began in 2021 with Snyder’s post-apocalyptic zombie movieArmy of the Dead, which serves as a spiritual sequel to the director’s 2004 reimagining ofDawn of the Dead.Army of the Deadfeatured an ensemble cast, including Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, and Tig Notaro. The movie was a streaming hit for Netflix, and theLost Vegasprequel show was planned soon after. However,Snyder mentioned that the project had stalled for technical reasons, and there didn’t seem to be any change regarding the show’s status.
In an exclusive interview withScreen Rant’s Zak Wojnar, atNew York Comic Con, Oliva was asked about an update on the status of the series for which he was the showrunner. He revealed thatmostly everything was completed before Netflix pulled the plug. Then, he shared how good the show was and believed that Netflix could always revive it since the project just needed the animation. Check out Oliva’s comments below:
I mean, they haven’t said I can’t say anything. We completed mostly everything. We were in animation, but then Netflix eventually pulled the plug. So I don’t know. I offered to say, hey, let’s try to finish it. But I think their plan is to maybe do a Rebel Moon animated. I don’t know. I’m not a part of that.
But what I did with Zack on Lost Vegas was amazing, and it’s sad that you guys won’t see it. But there’s no reason that Netflix couldn’t revive it because all the pre-production was done. We were just in animation. All we had to do was to get it finished animated. But it looked great. In fact, what you see in Infinity: Paradise Lost is kind of like what it could look like, because the look of this was what I was trying to do with Lost Vegas."
What This Means For The Chances Of A Lost Vegas Spinoff
Things Don’t Look Good Right Now, But The Project Is Not Completely Dead
Oliva’s update suggests that audiences may be unlikely to getanArmy of Dead: Lost Vegasanimated spinoff, at least in the near future, and it largely feels like it’s down to Netflix at this stage.The producer has a long and successful working relationship with Snyder, and this is sure to come to the forefront again if aLost Vegasseries is to get off the ground. Also, their working relationship could be pivotal in convincing the streaming giants to reconsider the show.
Snyder has mentioned an idea for a scene in which the team would enter a portal and find themselves in the same world as hisRebel Moonfranchise, making them part of the Zak Snyder shared universe.
According to an interview Snyder gave withTotal Filmin 2023, the scripts have all been written, andthe show was in animatic pre-visualization form. He even shared that the voice recording had been completed. Whether the project will ever be fully completed and released remains to be seen. If it were to get revived, Olivia would likely remain the showrunner since his experienced background in animation would make him the logical choice to take the project forward and see it to fruition. However, it’s unlikely to see much development with Snyder now invested in hisRebel Moonfranchise.
The Prequel Is Likely To Focus On Important Backstory
Being a prequel show, it will be interesting to see the direction the series chooses in terms of story if it is ever released. I suspect the story will cover the group’s formative years carrying out heists and explore the cause of the zombie outbreak. Snyder has mentioned an idea for a scene in which the team would enter a portal and find themselves in the same world as hisRebel Moonfranchise, making them part of theZak Snyder shared universe. This is certainly something audiences could see in anArmy of the Dead: Lost Vegasshow.
Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas
Cast
Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas is the anime prequel to Zack Snyder’s 2021 zombie heist movie. It brings back Dave Bautista’s Scott Ward in the early days of the apocalypse, detailing the origin of the virus and the backstories of human characters such as Maria Cruz (Ana de la Reguera), Marianne Peters (Tig Notaro), and Kate (Ella Purnell).
