Return to the action-packed world of Army of the Dead in the first trailer for Netflix's upcoming prequel, Army of Thieves. The footage teases the kind of high-octane, fast-paced heist shenanigans that fans of the first outing enjoyed as Matthias Schweighöfer's Ludwig Dieter takes center stage and puts his safe-cracking skills to good use during the early years of the zombie outbreak.

In this prequel to Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, small-town bank teller Dieter gets drawn into the adventure of a lifetime when a mysterious woman recruits him to join a crew of Interpol's most wanted criminals, attempting to heist a sequence of legendary, impossible-to-crack safes across Europe.

Zack Snyder is on board as a producer for this one, with lead actor Matthias Schweighöfer taking on directing duties. Working from a screenplay by Shay Hatten, from an original story co-written by Snyder and Hatten, Army of Thieves has recruited the likes of Nathalie Emmanuel, Guz Khan, Ruby O. Fee, Stuart Martin, Jonathan Cohen, Noemie Nakai and Peter Simonischek, throwing them into the zombie-infested world of criminality.

Army of Thieves poster

Much like its predecessor, Army of Thieves has been described as not-your-average zombie movie. In fact, the prequel is being sold as hardly a zombie movie at all. "We really like the idea of the fact that it was set at a time where the zombies existed in the world, but it wasn't a zombie film. Who's done a prequel where it's a different genre? To me, this is more romantic-comedy heist film than anything else," producer Deborah Snyder teased during the recent Comic-Con@Home panel.

Army of Thieves is just one part of Snyder's new Army of the Dead franchise, with the director recently signing a new first-look deal with Netflix and confirming that a straightforward sequel is also on the cards. "I've known Zack and Deb for years and was fortunate to be part of Dawn of the Dead, his first film," Netflix's Scott Stuber said in a statement. "I have since had the privilege of watching his career grow and see the evolving impact of his work. To see him return to his roots with Army of the Dead, which is now one of our most popular films, and build a world out of these characters with the upcoming Army of Thieves and anime series, is amazing to see. We've only scratched the surface of what's still to come and create with Zack, Deb, Wes and everyone at Stone Quarry."

Along with the live action prequel and subsequent sequel, an upcoming anime-style spin-off titled Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas also currently in development. Developed by Jay Oliva and produced by Meduzarts Animation, the series will reunite several characters and cast members from the first movie, including Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, Tig Notaro and Omari Hardwick who will all reprise their respective roles for Lost Vegas from Army of the Dead.

Revolving around the early phases of the zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, and center once again on Dave Bautista as Scott Ward, detailing his origins as well as his and his comrades' rescue efforts to save mankind. Unlike Army of the Dead however, Joe Manganiello's character, Rose, will serve as the story's main protagonist. Army of Thieves is scheduled to be released in late 2021 on Netflix.