‘Army of Thieves’ director and star Matthias Schweighöfer has confirmed a scene from the heist film is a direct homage to Zack Snyder's 2004 ‘Dawn of the Dead’. While spending over two decades in the limelight in his home country of Germany, Schweighöfer's global success has been spurred on by his turn as safecracker Ludwig Dieter in Snyder's zombie romp ‘Army of the Dead’. Outside of Schweighöfer's first English-language directorial effort with ‘Army of Thieves’, the star will also appear in Sally El Hosaini-directed drama ‘The Swimmers’, based on the incredible true story of the Mardini sisters.
Read more: Amber under investigation for dog smuggling
But while Schweighöfer reprises his role as Ludwig Dieter, unlike its predecessor, Army of Thieves is more straight-up heist than zombie romp, despite the two films sharing the same DNA. Set six years before the events of the second film, ‘Army of Thieves’ follows Schweighöfer's charismatic bank-robber as he leads a secret heist alongside a group of equally inexperienced thieves. Leading the cast opposite Schweighöfer is ‘Game of Thrones’ actress Nathalie Emmanuel, with Ruby O. Fee, Stuart Martin, and Guz Khan making up the rest of Ludwig's crew.
During an interview with Vanity Fair, Schweighöfer confirmed that a sequence in his new movie is a homage to Snyder's 2004 ‘Dawn of the Dead’ remake. In ‘Army of Thieves’, Ludwig dreams that a zombified girl staggers through his hallway, a scene similar to a moment from the Snyder zombie classic. Schweighöfer went on to admit that, despite trying to find the dress worn by Snyder's zombie, they couldn't quite find the perfect match.
While not a direct parallel, it's a clear homage to the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ scene, and while Schweighöfer didn't manage to get the dress right, he nailed the atmospheric forboding conjured by seeing the creature staggering through the hallway. It's clear how thankful Schweighöfer is that Snyder invited him along for the zombie aficionado's latest franchise, but the respect goes both ways; Snyder has spoken in the past about Schweighöfer's excellent representation of Ludwig.
We Got This Covered
