That year together became two. After grieving Autumn and starting to heal with his family, he began work on Army of the Dead, a visceral, funny, and exceedingly dark smash-and-grab story about an elite strike team that goes into a zombie-overrun Las Vegas to retrieve a hidden fortune before the hot zone is nuked. (The zombie virus emerges from Area 51, so aliens may be involved too.) During a day-long interview, Snyder giddily scans through concept art for an accompanying animated series, approving vehicles, otherworldly weapons, and supernatural beings. He makes suggestions for changes to his team of artists, all working remotely via Zoom. Behind him on the wall-length bookshelf, there is a frame with two photos: Autumn and Eli in their bathing suits as toddlers, beaming with the same smiles as their dad as he assesses his monsters.
The Army of the Dead movie is a lot to tackle, and the related prequel and animated series even more all-consuming. Scott Stuber, head of original films at Netflix, says it’s a chance to build a world with a filmmaker who’s hungry to return: “Zack went through something very difficult, and I think he probably realized, like we all do, it’s okay to be vulnerable. For those of us lucky enough to know him and Deborah, he’s a very soulful, kind, thoughtful human being. He’s got this façade of big action movies and all these bravado things, but there’s a sweet kindness to him.”