Zack Snyder Teases Political Influences in Army of the Dead

Zack Snyder is hard at work on his new film Army of the Dead, which will mix post-apocalyptic zombie horror with a high-concept heist film. As Snyder begins production on his first Netflix feature-film, we’re getting more detailed insights about what the film will be all about.

Recently Snyder gave fans a first tease of what the zombies of Army of the Dead will look like. Today we’re learning that this zombie apocalypse action-heist film will also have some strong political leanings. Check out what Snyder had to say about the socio-political metaphors in Army of the Dead‘s story, during an interview with Comic Book Debate:

“With Army [of the Dead], it’s difficult not to do to a social statement because the movie is about building a wall for refugees and veterans but it’s also fun to do a zombie heist in Vegas. It makes it richer and better. I can’t help myself. I’ve always worked in a self-reflective way. Cinema is a reflective art form.”

If you’re unfamiliar, here’s the officially teaser synopsis for Army of the Dead:

“The adventure is set amid a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, during which a man assembles a group of mercenaries to take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantined zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.“

That “quarantine zone” may be the area of the film where Snyder is going to pack in the ties to today’s socio-political situation. The quarantine zone will likely be separated from the larger “infected” population, presumably with strict mandates on who can be let in. Paranoia, xenophobia and intolerance would all be right at home in the world Snyder sounds like he’s building here. Army of the Dead will truly be Snyder’s baby: he wrote the script along Joby Harold (Awake), after the concept sat at Warner Brothers for years before landing at Netflix. As Snyder has previously teased, Army of the Dead will allow him to fully make the kind of horror/action film he’s dreamed of:

“There are no handcuffs on me at all with this one,” Snyder said. “I love to honor canon and the works of art, but this is the opportunity to find a purely joyful way to express myself through a genre,” Snyder went on to explain. “It will be the most kick-ass, self-aware — but not in a wink-to-the-camera way — balls-to-the-wall zombie freakshow that anyone has ever seen. No one’s ever let me completely loose [like this].”

Army of the Dead will be coming to Netflix at a date TBA.