Zack Snyder to direct LAPD action thriller for Netflix
Even though it’s been 20 years since he made his feature-length directorial debut on the Dawn of the Dead remake, and he’s gone on to helm another 11 features in that time, Zack Snyder has never made a movie set in a grounded or tangible reality. Until now, that is.
The filmmaker has been working prolifically with Netflix since signing a first-look development deal with the studio several years back, and after focusing exclusively on the sort of brainless and effects-heavy fare that’s won him a legion of fans around the world, Snyder has decided that now is the time to scale things as far back as they’ve ever been.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Snyder will reteam with 300 and Rebel Moon screenwriter Kurt Johnstad for an as-yet-untitled action thriller focusing on the Los Angeles Police Department. Details beyond that remain thin on the ground, beyond the fact that the project has been described as unfolding “in the high-stakes world of life and death” and following an LAPD unit “relentlessly confronted with the unforgiving collision of law and mortality.”
It’s still in the very earliest stages, but it’s nonetheless an intriguing proposition. Snyder has built his entire career on the back of zombies, comic book adaptations, animated owls, and blockbuster fantasy flicks, so it’ll be interesting to see how he does without the bells and whistles that have defined his filmography so far.
After ending his lengthy association with Warner Bros to up sticks and set up shop at Netflix, it would be fair to say the results have been inconsistent. Snyder’s Army of the Dead was a hit in terms of viewing figures, but his ambitious plans to build out an entire universe of undead adventures appear to have hit the skids.
Spinoff Army of Thieves did make it through production, but animated series Lost Vegas remains trapped in developmental limbo and direct sequel Planet of the Dead have gone radio silent other than Snyder referring to any future instalments in the nascent series in the past tense, which is never a good sign.
The two-part Rebel Moon, meanwhile, originated under the Disney and Lucasfilm banner as a standalone Star Wars spinoff before being resurrected at Netflix as an original concept, even if it was still basically Seven Samurai in space. For want of a better word, both halves were awful, and it remains to be seen if Snyder’s ambitious plans for as many as six films come to fruition.