Zach Snyder digs up Army of the Dead heist details, Netflix debut window

On a break from filming Army of the Dead in an abandoned Atlantic City casino, director Zack Snyder revealed new plot details about the long-in-development zombie heist film to local radio program Preston and Steve's Fun Size Podcast, as well as when the movie would shamble into the light of day: Summer *cough* Winter 2020.

Dave Bautista leads an ensemble cast that includes Raül Castillo, Garret Dillahunt, Ana de la Reguera, Chris D’Elia, Omari Hardwick, Ella Purnell, and Theo Rossi as soldiers infiltrating a zombie-infested Las Vegas. Snyder revealed that the plague is initially contained to Vegas — "they build a wall out of shipping containers" — but the city ultimately falls. "And six years later, one of the casino owners hires this group of zombie soldiers to go get his money that he left in a safe in the casino."

Snyder also discussed his background in art and his approach to cinematography throughout his career. "Mostly I draw my own storyboards and I’m really very careful about the way the movies is visually rendered and it’s very important to me how every little piece fits in,” he said.

In addition to Army of the Dead, the hosts prompted Snyder to talk about his controversial adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen. Asked if the director had spoken with Moore, who is famously disdainful of films based on his work, Snyder said, “I’ve never heard from Alan."

"Over the years I’ve written him a number of letters I’ve never sent," Snyder added. "You don’t have to reach too far to know I’m a fan of his work.”

Perhaps defending himself against critics, Snyder said that Warner Bros. was "going to make [Watchmen] without me," and that the first version of the script he saw had tacked on a modern "War on Terror" setting, given Rorschach a sidekick, and contained other elements he found distasteful. "I said, I have to do this or I’ll never forgive myself if I let them do it this way." (The hosts did not ask Snyder's views on the forthcoming Watchmen series on HBO.)

Army of the Dead still does not have a firm release date, but Snyder said the film will premiere on Netflix in Winter 2020 — after first saying Summer and quickly correcting himself.