‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Star Dave Bautista Cast in Zack Snyder’s ‘Army of the Dead’

Zack Snyder’s about to make his momentous return to the zombie genre and he’s bringing a major genre player with him. Deadline reports that Dave Bautista will be headlining Army of the Dead, something the Guardians of the Galaxy Star previously hinted at earlier this year. Not much is known about the Snyder-directed film other than the fact it’s a Netflix original and scheduled to debut on the streaming giant sometime in 2020.

The Tampa Bay Times first hinted at the casting back in February, when they mentioned that Bautista was appearing in an upcoming Snyder project. At the time, it was unclear whether that project was Army of the Dead or something else in the hopper.

The zombie flick is another chunk on the ever-expanding plate of Bautista. In addition to taking on Triple H in this weekend’s WrestleMania 35, the actor is appearing alongside Silicon Valley alum Kumail Nanjiani in Stuber later this summer in addition to STX’s My Spy, a movie which has yet to receive a release date. He’s also tabbed to be in the star-studded Dune remake, reuniting with Blade Runner 2049 helmer Denis Villenueve. This is all in addition to his appearance later this month in Avengers: Endgame and a likely role in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

First announced in January, Army of the Dead marks Snyder’s return to the director’s chair after parting from Justice League to deal with a family tragedy. In addition to directing, Snyder produces with his wife Deborah Snyder through their Stone Quarry banner. Snyder also wrote the film’s script along Joby Harold (Awake). The movie had been at Warner Brothers since 2007 before being snatched up by Netflix this year.

“There are no handcuffs on me at all with this one,” Snyder said of the film. “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].”

The full synopsis for Army of the Dead can be found below.

“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.”

Army of the Dead is currently scheduled to hit Netflix next year.

Are you looking forward to Zack Snyder‘s return to the zombie genre? What’s your favorite Snyder movie? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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