Director Zack Snyder confirmed an unlikely connection between his Netflix projects Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon, reporting the two films share a universe.
Though the upcoming Rebel Moon takes place on a distant planet and Army of the Dead’s set in a contemporary and zombie-infested Las Vegas, GamesRadar outlined how Snyder planned an Easter egg connection between the projects. Army of the Dead, a franchise in its own right which spawned the prequel film Army of Thieves, was intended to have an animated series at Netflix where the connection to Rebel Moon would have been established.
“At one point in the show, they go through a portal into another dimension, and there are [Rebel Moon] characters in that other dimension that they come across,” the director said, describing a plotline in Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, an animated prequel that Snyder indicated may be canceled or on indefinite hiatus.
According to Snyder, Army of the Dead boasted a vast mythology only touched upon by the events of the film and its prequel. While the animated series could have served to expand upon some of the concepts introduced in the film – such as zombie tigers and undead contraception – the intended connection to Rebel Moon was described as more of a nod for fans of Snyder’s overarching filmography. The director went on to explain how his upcoming sci-fi epic would return the favor by including a bar scene with background characters from Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas.
Per Snyder’s description, the connection between the two projects sounded to serve as more of a playful nudge than the establishment of an interconnected cinematic universe. While the arising complaint about the Marvel brand of cinematic universe (where multiple projects stand as required viewing for a movie or show) might not have applied to Army of the Dead/Rebel Moon’s shared moment, Snyder’s not necessarily abandoned franchise filmmaking since his DC exit. Shared universe aside, both Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon are launchpads for new, separate cinematic universes at Netflix.
