Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead Movie Replaces Chris D'Elia with Tig Notaro
Actor and stand-up comic Tig Notaro is replacing Chris D'Elia in Zack Snyder's upcoming Netflix film, Army of the Dead. A "spiritual successor" to the director's first film, Dawn of the Dead, the zombie movie will see Snyder return to his roots in genre filmmaking. He, of course, has spent the last few years of his career working in the DC Extended Universe. He debuted his superhero work with 2013's Man of Steel and is slated to release his cut of Justice League on HBO Max next year.
Army of the Dead will follow a group of soldiers who invade the quarantined city of Las Vegas during a zombie outbreak in an effort to pull off "the greatest heist ever attempted." The film, which Snyder co-wrote and directed, stars Guardians of the Galaxy's Dave Bautista as the group's leader, as well as Raúl Castillo, Ana de la Reguera, Ella Purnell, and Garret Dillahunt, among others. Though filming concluded last year, post-production work hit a snag when the COVID-19 outbreak shut down Hollywood. However, it was able to continue.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view. Start nowPer THR,D'Elia's work in the film will now be done by Notaro. The decision comes two months after he was accused of sexually harassing underage girls on social media. Despite his denial of all allegations, D'Elia lost his agency, and his Netflix prank show was canceled. Snyder's film will undergo reshoots and re-editing in order to plug Notaro in where D'Elia once was. Because of pandemic restrictions and guidelines, a variety of approaches will need to be taken in order to incorporate Notaro. Some of the time, reshooting will involve her working alongside an actor partner, while other times CGI and green screens will be used to seamlessly fill in the gaps.
Notaro, best known for her stand-up comedy and her work on Amazon's One Mississippi, has also appeared in films like last year's Lucy in the Sky and Paramount's 2018 comedy Instant Family. She's also appeared in New Girl, Star Trek: Discovery, and Transparent. Her HBO special Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted was nominated for both a Grammy and an Emmy award.
While Army of the Deadmay not be Snyder's most anticipated upcoming project, it certainly now carries a little bit of added weight, though in a good way. It axed an actor that has been accused of vile acts and added one who has long been universally appreciated. It's also both the right and only possible decision to be made on the part of Snyder and others involved in the film. In the midst of the omnipresent #MeToo movement, leaving D'Elia involved and on-screen would be an irrefutably irresponsible directorial choice, proving Snyder made the right call.
Source: THR
Source: screenrant.com