Tig Notaro Will Replace Chris D’Elia in Zack Snyder’s ‘Army of the Dead’

Ryan Lattanzio
·2 min read

The upcoming Netflix zombie horror comedy “Army of the Dead,” directed by Zack Snyder, will have to undergo reshoots as the film’s former star Chris D’Elia has just been replaced by comedian Tig Notaro. The casting switch-up arrives after a dramatic few months for comic actor D’Elia, who faced sexual-misconduct allegations that spurred representatives from CAA, WME, and 3 Arts Entertainment to drop him as a client. Netflix also canceled a planned show featuring D’Elia in the lead. The news of Notaro replacing D’Elia was originally reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Netflix confirmed the news to IndieWire, and said that reshoots will begin soon.

The accusations against D’Elia, which began to surface in earnest earlier this summer, allege that he had sexually inappropriate communications with women as young as 16 years old. D’Elia completed filming on “Army of the Dead” before the pandemic hit back in March, when the movie was already in post-production.

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Notaro will reshoot scenes with an acting partner against a green screen, with CGI used to insert her into the film. This is similar to Ridley Scott’s 2017 “All the Money in the World,” in which Christopher Plummer (going on to earn an Academy Award nomination) had to step in for Kevin Spacey, who was yanked from the movie in post amid his own sexual-misconduct scandals.

Said to be a spiritual sequel to Snyder’s 2004 hit “Dawn of the Dead,” “Army of the Dead” follows a group of mercenaries who, in the wake of a zombie outbreak wreaking havoc upon Las Vegas, try to pull off a heist.

Snyder is otherwise busy working on his “Snyder cut” of the DC tentpole “Justice League” for HBO Max, set to premiere next year on the rookie streaming platform. For that film, however, Snyder won’t need to do any reshoots, but will instead work with the already existing footage from the 2017 Warner Bros. superhero film to craft a sprawling, deeper narrative. The Snyder cut will reportedly cost in the $20-30 million range to complete. The original movie cost $300 million to market and produce. The Snyder cut is expected to be released as either a four-hour movie, or in television-style installments.

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