Zack Snyder is many issues as a filmmaker. Chief amongst them? The person is bold. Whereas the outcomes of these ambitions are sometimes divisive, no one can deny that Snyder tends to swing for the fences. He did not simply pitch a “Superman” movie to Warner Bros. and DC, he pitched a full-on, wild tackle the franchise. It did not precisely pan out however he had massive plans. Equally, within the aftermath of the mess that was “Justice League,” Snyder went to Netflix to make the zombie heist flick “Military of the Lifeless.” It was meant to be the beginning of a giant franchise, with sequels, spin-offs, and extra to observe. Now, it appears to be like just like the franchise is just about useless within the water.
This tidbit comes from a latest profile piece for The Wrap, which focuses on how Zack Snyder and his producing accomplice, in addition to his spouse, Deborah Snyder pulled collectively his R-rated director’s cuts of “Insurgent Moon” (which just lately debuted on Netflix). Within the piece, the “Military of the Lifeless” franchise was additionally addressed and, save for one very small mission, it is seemingly been all however killed off by the streamer.
Certainly, an animated spin-off sequence titled “Misplaced Vegas,” which was fairly far alongside within the growth course of, was quietly canceled by Netflix already. The report additionally notes that “plans for subsequent movies” have additionally been scrapped. “We’re very bold with every thing,” Snyder mentioned, acknowledging the huge scope of what he had in thoughts for this universe.
It seems all that is left for the franchise that was “Military of the Lifeless” is a themed expertise coming to the Six Flags theme parks this Halloween season. “It is going to be a extremely cool expertise,” Deborah Snyder mentioned of the theme park attraction. To name this an unceremonious finish to the enterprise could be a little bit of an understatement.
The place does Zack Snyder go from right here?
“Military of the Lifeless” arrived in 2021 with an A-list solid led by Dave Bautista (“Guardians of the Galaxy”). It was Snyder’s return to the zombie style following his breakout 2004 remake of “Daybreak of the Lifeless.” The movie picks up within the aftermath of a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas and follows a gaggle of mercenaries who enterprise into the quarantine zone to aim to tug off an extremely dangerous heist.
In October 2021, because the prequel “Military of Thieves” was hitting Netflix, Snyder confirmed that the title for the sequel could be “Planet of the Lifeless.” That carried with it main implications, suggesting that the zombie outbreak would go world within the follow-up. The filmmaker then discovered himself very busy together with his equally bold “Insurgent Moon” franchise, and that put his “Lifeless” universe on the backburner. Within the meantime, Netflix has performed a whole lot of reshuffling and appears to imagine {that a} additional growth of this universe is not definitely worth the funding.
This all begs the query of what comes subsequent for Snyder. The filmmaker signed a two-year first look take care of Netflix in 2021, however that has expired and there was no indication that the contract was prolonged. It is also value noting that “Insurgent Moon” was met with dismal critiques from critics and audiences alike, that means that it is extremely unlikely that Netflix will wish to proceed on with that franchise both.
Meaning Snyder goes to be one thing of a free agent, which ought to be fascinating. He is at present in talks to govt produce and direct a “300” prequel sequence for Warner Bros., which is shocking after the messiness of “Justice League.” Are different studios going to line as much as give him a giant finances to work with? Are different streamers going to wager massive on him at a time when most of these firms are chopping again on spending? We’ll need to see the place the chips fall.
“Insurgent Moon,” in all of its kinds, is at present streaming on Netflix.
