Introduced in Army of the Dead, safecracker Ludwig Dieter/Sebastian (Matthias Schweighöfer) proved a fan-favorite character following the film's release earlier this year. And while his story may have had a bloody ending in that film, Army of Thieves -- which is set six years prior to Army of the Dead -- explores his backstory in more depth. Now, Army of the Dead director Zack Snyder has explained just why the second film in his budding zombie franchise focuses on Dieter specifically.
When asked in an interview with CBR in advance of Army of Thieves why the franchise's second film centered on Dieter, Snyder explained, "I think because the safe was so central to Army of the Dead and that understanding [of] the Götterdämmerung mythological roots. And why? Why this character -- Dieter/Sebastian -- would be so obsessed and so instantly hooked by the potential to find the Götterdämmerung and break it and crack it. You know, that idea that, like, it's so intriguing in Army of the Dead that you're just like, 'Well, why? What? How does he know all this? Like, what is this?' And now to see a whole movie that explains why is just kind of really fun."
Army of the Dead saw Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) uniting a team to crack a safe in Las Vegas before the U.S. government destroyed the city and its zombie inhabitants. So as to crack the nearly impossible safe -- known as the Götterdämmerung -- Ward enlisted the help of Dieter. Army of Thieves sees Dieter working with a team to crack three safes by the same maker, all inspired by Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen opera.
Prior to Army of the Dead's release, Netflix greenlit two prequels: Army of Thieves and the animated Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas. The movie ended up proving a big success for the streaming service and currently holds a 67 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Following Army of the Dead's release, a sequel -- titled Planet of the Dead -- was confirmed as being in development. That film does not have a release window at this time.
Directed and starring Matthias Schweighöfer, Army of Thieves hits Netflix on Oct. 29. At the time of writing, the movie holds a 69 percent on Rotten Tomatoes among critics.