Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead has just found its latest star. According to a new report from The Wrap, Ella Purnell has joined the cast of the upcoming zombie horror project. While details around the role are slim, Purnell will reportedly be playing the daughter of Scott, a character played by Dave Bautista.
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Purnell is known for her roles in Kick-Ass 2, Sweetbitter, and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
In addition to Bautista, the cast of Army of the Dead includes Ana De La Reguera (Cowboys and Aliens, Narcos), Theo Rossi (Luke Cage, Sons of Anarchy), and Huma Qureshi (Viceroy’s House, Gangs of Wasseypur).
Army of the Dead will be set during a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas and see a man who brings together a group of mercenaries to venture into the quarantined zone to pull off “the greatest heist ever attempted”. Snyder came up with the story for Army of the Dead, and co-wrote the script with Shay Hatten. Producers on the project include Snyder and his wife Deborah, Wesley Coller, Ori Marmur, and Andrew Norman. Filming on the project is expected to begin in July.
This marks Snyder’s first feature film since Justice League, which he stepped away from in 2017 due to a family tragedy. It also marks his return to the zombie genre, after 2004’s Dawn of the Dead.
“There are no handcuffs on me at all with this one,” Snyder said when the project was first announced. “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. 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].”
“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.” Snyder elaborated in a recent interview. “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.”
Are you excited to see Purnell join Army of the Dead? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Army of the Dead is expected to debut on Netflix. It does not currently have a release date.
