Resident Evil 3 Did Army of the Dead's Zombie Vegas 14 Years Ago
Zack Snyder's new Netflix film Army of the Dead takes the zombie apocalypse to Vegas, but Resident Evil: Extinction beat him to the undead punch. While the success level of both his projects remains to be seen, 2021 could well be Snyder's biggest year ever. On March 18, HBO Max debuts the long-demanded Snyder Cut of Justice League, which serves to allow fans to experience his original vision for the grand DCEU team-up. Then, on May 21, Netflix drops Army of the Dead, Snyder's first return to the world of zombies since his acclaimed Dawn of the Dead remake.
Considering that Snyder's last credited effort as a director was Joss Whedon's widely panned theatrical version of Justice League, 2021 is majorly looking up for both Snyder and his legion of fans. Surprisingly, there still isn't that much known about the intricacies of Army of the Dead's plot, which concerns a group of mercenaries that set out to pull a massive heist at a Las Vegas casino, with the hook being that this takes place during a zombie outbreak that's left Sin City full of flesh-eating ghouls.
Setting zombies loose in Las Vegas is a novel idea, and one that's surprisingly been mostly left alone up until now. The biggest exception to that is 2007's Resident Evil: Extinction, the third entry in the movie franchise loosely based on video games of the same name.
Resident Evil: Extinction continued the progression of the viral apocalypse caused by the evil machinations of Umbrella Corporation and their T-Virus, and Alice's attempts to bring them down. The film's primary setting is the Nevada desert and the larger southwestern U.S., now much more populated by zombies than humans. This includes some time spent in Las Vegas, and while it makes for a cool-looking backdrop, the city isn't really used for much beyond that. It plays host to some entertaining action scenes, but the potential fun factor of a zombie movie set in Vegas is never really the focus.
That leaves the door wide open for Zack Snyder to take that dropped ball and run with it for Army of the Dead. Just based on footage released so far, Snyder looks to be taking full advantage of the Las Vegas setting, and the potential thrills to be had by populating that garish landscape of lights and colors with hordes of the undead. Already seen to exist are zombies dressed like Elvis, kills that take place next to slot machines, flashy landmarks blowing up, and a general embracing of the Las Vegas themes present. Still, if he wanted to, Snyder could do worse than throwing in a quick nod to Resident Evil: Extinction's time in America's most famous den of debauchery.