Audiences live in an era of interconnected media. Ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe spread its wings with the stinger at the end of Iron Man, fans have had no shortage of teasers, Easter eggs, speculation, and continuity tangles to kill the time between big-budget films. While the MCU is undoubtedly the most successful example, just about every studio with the IP to make it happen is trying their hand at the 'Cinematic Universe' model, but Zack Snyder may have just made one of the most unusual connections of them all between his upcoming film Army of the Dead and Netflix's Tiger King.
Snyder himself is no stranger to shared IP and imagery, having just come off of Justice League and the DC Extended Universe, and constantly talking about what he would have liked to do with various characters from the DC comics. Not only that, but his upcoming Army of the Dead film for Netflix already has several spin-off projects in the works, with an unspoken assumption that, if the film does well, there will be more to come from this particular Snyder project.
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That said, the Army of the Dead connection to Netflix's smash hit Tiger King may not be one that most fans would expect. As the latest Army of the Dead trailer dropped, one of the big showstopper moments was a zombie tiger wandering the streets of zombie-infested Vegas. Obviously, the scene was quite popular online and has made the rounds as a great 'haven't seen that before' draw for the film.
As Snyder revealed during a panel at Justice Con, that zombie tiger's realization from concept to screen owes a debt to footage from Tiger King. Not too long ago, Netflix users were enraptured by Tiger King, a documentary about tiger sanctuaries and the strange lives of the people who own them. Snyder went on to reveal that the undead tiger from Army of the Dead was actually based on real reference footage taking from Carol Baskin's tiger sanctuary, which featured heavily in the documentary.
It's not exactly a reference, per se, but it's certainly an interesting connection between two Netflix properties that otherwise have no common ground. The reference couldn't have been fully intentional either, as shooting for Army of the Dead began long before Tiger King blew up the internet with its crazy dive into tiger sanctuaries. Those who want to catch up on both projects will have to tune into Netflix in order to do so.
Army of the Dead hits Netflix on May 21st and Tiger King is available on Netflix now.
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Source: Justice Con/YouTube