EXCLUSIVE: 15 Things We Learned from the ‘Army of the Dead’ Cast & Crew

Zack and Deborah Snyder’s Army of the Dead is just around the corner. To prepare you for the craziness that’s about to go down, here are 15 things we learned from the cast and crew of Army of the Dead at the exclusive press conference we attended. From Dave Bautista and his journey to filming in Atlantic City, there’s a bunch to learn about this Netflix movie!

1. Zack Snyder on the heart of the movie

“It’s funny how sort of the emotional part of the movie really is the centerpiece, in a lot of ways, the heart. Everyone’s character and sort of where they are is really the sort of star of the movie. Whether, you know, it’s… whether it’s Zeus the, you know the alpha zombie, I’m really interested in his emotional… where he is emotionally as well as, you know, whether it’s like Huma’s character, you know, like…looking for her children or trying to help out her children or whether it’s, you know, Dave’s character just, you know, trying to reconnect with his daughter. Really, in the end, I… all of the characters are like where they are emotionally, became really the center… really becomes the centerpiece of the movies. And, uh, even though you can say, “Yes, it’s a zombie-heist movie,” it’s also in the end, it’s a…it’s a character movie in a lot of ways.”

2. The conditions were difficult

“I think the challenges, you know, were kind of twofold in that, you know, when we were in New Mexico, we were shooting. It was super-hot in the middle of the summer. You know, we built this giant backlot, and I think the elements were a challenge when we were there between the heat. And also, it was like the monsoon season. So, like we would constantly get shut down, um, because of the lightning.”

3. They shot in Atlantic City casinos

“So, Atlantic City afforded us… There’s a lot of shut down casinos, but they’ve been shut down a long time. So, it took a lot of preparation and a lot more work than we anticipated to make the casinos safe enough for us to be able to come in and shoot. And even in the one location, there were only certain areas we were allowed to be in. So, um, you know, I think, you know, on this one, for me, the locations in both places were the biggest challenge.”

4. Initially Dave Bautista didn’t want the role

“I’ve gotten to do films where, you know, I had a lot of action. But I’ve never gotten to do a film where, I got to really show off my range as an actor. When this first came to my attention, I wasn’t all that interested in it because it was described to me as a zombie-heist film. I thought it was just an action film. It wasn’t what I was looking for. I was really set out to prove myself, you know, as an actor. And then it came back around to me.”

5. This was an opportunity for Bautista to show his range

“Then it came back around to me. When I found out that Zack was interested in me playing Scott, so I read the script. And it was completely different than what I thought it was gonna be, and it afforded me the opportunity to really kind of show off all different sides of me from being that badass action guy to being a father who’s just trying to redeem himself with his daughter. So, that was it. That was, um, I mean, that was kind of what sold me
on the project.”

6. Raúl Castillo’s Mikey created a family in the apocalypse

“I mean, I think Mikey is one of the few characters that’s actually from Las Vegas. And he sort of he along with Chambers, played by Samantha Win, have become these sort of like tag-team like zombie killers. I think the influencer part of him is a big part of his character. But I think it all came up in gaming. He was a gamer before he started killing zombies, and he sort of translated those skills to survival and creating a family out of the apocalypse and surviving it.”

7. Bautista had a stunt double

“You know, physically, I am an athlete first. I think that’s what, you know, where I found my calling and why I was successful in professional wrestling. I’ve always been comfortable with
physical things, physical performance. So, it wasn’t a complete struggle physically, and anything that would become a struggle, I’m not embarrassed to admit. I’d say, “Rob.” Rob’s my stunt guy. So, if it’s something that’s just way over my head, I just call for my stunt double, and he’s perfectly capable of taking care of it.”

8. Theo Rossi thinks you won’t find a crew like this anywhere else

“You know, you’re not gonna find people that are so absolutely involved in every single aspect. You know, the writing, the filming, the shooting, the holding the camera while directing. You know, and Deborah just kicking ass; like getting everything done. And, you know, I think that this is that type of film that everybody’s linked arms and is moving forward, you know. To do something at this scale and with this group of people, you know, who just genuinely all really like each other, that’s how things like this get done. So, being part of it is just…it’s such an enormous world, and it’s just… it’s so much fun to play in.”

9. Garret Dillahunt felt like it was a dream working with Zack

“This is like a dream. I have so many friends that have worked with Zack, Jason Momoa chief among ’em, who just has such high things to say about him and Deborah and the experiences. I’ve always wanted to, you know…I’ve been a fan of his stuff for a long time. And then to get on set and, uh, like…everyone has referenced, you know, just his enthusiasm and, uh, this feeling of complete trust in him, you know. It’s a big weight off your shoulders, and you don’t have to worry about, you know, the top, you know. I had complete faith in his vision and what he was trying to. We had a No. 1 in Dave who, you know, who’s just a great leader.”

10. Everyone had their moment to shine according to Bautista

“I could go on and on about why I love working with Zack and why I’ve wanted to work with him for years and why it was everything I thought it would be and then some. But I really want to focus on something that Garret said that Zack made sure that we all had our moments to shine. I feel like looking back on this film like everybody shined.”

11. Omari Hardwick’s Vanderohe believes death is an intimate act

“He’ll disembowel you. He’ll decapitate you if need be, but he would rather actually go lower and not take your head off. Um, but actually just cut your insides. And while doing so, you get to be that intimate with him. And he gets to be, Vanderohe, that is, gets to be that intimate with the person whom he’s killing. The zombie who he’s killing. So we built it together, um, a lot of thought. A lot of-Zack has a poetic brain, Omari has a poetic brain, and then together, obviously we both, uh, have an enormous amount of feeling about physicality.”

12. Tig Notaro wishes they worked with the cast

“I really had such a great time. And now that I’m hilariously meeting the cast for the first time, it’s so sad to me that I didn’t get to have the experience, um, in person because although we’ve only met on Zoom and on Instagram through messages and whatever, I’m just, I’m sad that I didn’t get to actually be in the movie.”

13. Matthias Schweighöfer’s had fun playing the safe cracker

“Playing Ludwig Dieter, which is the most common German name ever. You know, I know a lot of Ludwigs and a lot of Dieters. By the way, my father is named Dieter Schweighöfer. Playing the safe cracker was such…it was so much fun. You know, it was fantastic. When we did…when we cracked the movie, and we’re at the first, like, Navy Seal training, and, uh, everyone was, like, there with the guns, you know. And infiltrating rooms as a team. I was the only one, you know of the guys, that Zack told me, “Matthias, you have to do everything different than all the others.”

14. Why Ella Purnell was attracted to the role

“I think that is something that really attracted me to the script in the first place, was that relationship between her and Dave. Um, my brain doesn’t work. Kate and Scott Ward. Um, I think that there’s a lot of parallels in this, like, each character has the physically impressive stuff from the action side of it, and each character has sort of an emotional thing to overcome.”