In case you’re wondering what might be next for Zack Snyder, especially after the epic scale of his two ‘Rebel Moon’ movies, well, he’s going to be doing the total opposite of that. While Snyder seems to be quietly working on a UFC-set movie, he’s added another project to his arsenal.
THR is reporting that Snyder has set up an LAPD movie over at Netflix. The project is described as Snyder’s “first truly grounded film” as it “won’t be populated by laser-shooting rebels, brain-eating zombies, bone-breaking caped crusaders, or limb-severing Spartans.”
Specific details are being kept in lock-up, but the action thriller is being described as being set in the high-stakes world of life and death and centered on an elite LAPD unit that is relentlessly confronted with the unforgiving collision of law and morality.
One look at Snyder’s filmography, and it consists mostly of these big and epic statements, so it will be interesting to see him make something a little “smaller,” which he hasn’t done since his 2004 debut “Dawn of the Dead.” Then again, making an action-packed cop movie isn’t by any stretch a modest endeavor, it just feels small when compared to his other works.
In July, Snyder told Reel Blend that he wanted his next project to be smaller in scale to ‘Rebel Moon’ and to not have any VFX, which is something he’s been wanting to do for some time:
I’m trying to do a small movie right now. I'm not going to say what it is, but I was, like, can I just do a movie without any visual effects in it for like five minutes? Then, I’ll go back to the insanity […] I'm supposed to be writing this movie and that's kind of what I want to do.
Snyder had previously hinted at making a third ‘Rebel Moon’ movie, but the response to the first two instalments must have certainly put that project on permanent hold. I’d be very surprised if Netflix decides to greenlight another one in the near future.
As far as Snyder’s UFC movie goes, it’s still in development, and isn't planned at Netflix. Zach Baylin (“King Richard”) co-wrote the screenplay with Snyder. It’s planned as a theatrical film, with the UFC — including its president, Dana White — being directly involved.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.