Army Of The Dead 2's Villain Is Zombie Dieter
Mia Walsh Army of the Dead’s safecracker Ludwig Dieter was last seen being dragged away by the alpha zombie Zeus. Will Dieter return in Army of the Dead 2?
Warning: the following contains SPOILERS for Army of Thieves.
Army of the Dead 2 will need villains that are more dangerous and terrifying than the first movie in the series, which could lead to the sequel’s main antagonist being an alpha zombie version of master locksmith and safecracker, Ludwig Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer). Army of the Dead 2 is also known as Planet of the Dead. It will be the third movie in Zack Snyder and Matthias Schweighöfer’s trilogy – the first being Army of the Dead and the second being its prequel Army of Thieves.
Chronologically, the last moment shown of Dieter is him being dragged away by the alpha zombie Zeus, as the Götterdämmerung’s safe door closes and traps Vanderohe in Army of the Dead. This has resulted in much speculation about Dieter’s final fate. Considering how Dieter has become a fan favorite in both Army of the Dead and Army of Thieves, it’s unlikely that he’s dead.
Army of the Dead 2 will likely bring back Dieter as an alpha zombie. While this seems unlikely at first glance, it’s a possibility that ticks many of the boxes set up by the first two movies in the Army series. In fact, Army of the Dead director Zack Snyder himself has already suggested that Dieter could’ve been bitten by Zeus and turned into an alpha zombie. And there are several factors that support this possibility.
Alpha Zombie Ludwig Dieter Would Be Immensely Useful To Zeus’ Army Of The Dead
Traditionally, zombies feed on brains. Snyder subverts this classic movie trope by giving brains to Army of the Dead’s alpha zombies. While they’re not as smart as humans, they’re certainly intelligent enough to organize a tight-knit semi-feudal society and even make tactical battle decisions – and that’s what makes them truly terrifying. This is also why alpha zombie leader Zeus would decide to turn Dieter into a new alpha. The alpha zombies seem to be able to retain some of what they learned as humans. For Zeus, it’s the military tactics of Area 51 soldier Richards, his previous life before becoming a zombie. For Dieter, it would be parts of his encyclopedic knowledge of Hans Wagner’s safes in Army of Thieves and Army of the Dead. After observing the skeletons gathered in front of the Götterdämmerung, Zeus would be able to deduce that the safe is highly complex. It would also be obvious to Zeus that Dieter isn’t a combatant, which means that his only purpose in the basement is to open the safe, which Zeus has never seen opened before. This tells Zeus that Dieter could be highly intelligent – a candidate for becoming an alpha zombie.
Dieter would make a great addition to Zeus’ army because his knowledge isn’t limited to just opening Wagner’s safes. Dieter also has an understanding of the intricate traps set by Wagner against would-be safecrackers, the structural integrity of the Ring Cycle safes, and how everything was put together. In short, Dieter is exactly the type of alpha zombie that can serve as a general in Zeus’ Army of the Dead, as Dieter’s mind is armed with a variety of traps and tactics for keeping human treasure hunters away from his horde’s territory. And now that most of Las Vegas has been vaporized by an atomic bomb, which will inevitably spawn new threats, Dieter will be of even more value to Zeus.
Alpha Zombie Ludwig Dieter Will Be Army Of The Dead 2’s Main Villain
Given the brains behind the alpha zombie, Dieter could be an even more strategic and dangerous villain than Zeus. As a twisted version of master locksmith Hans Wagner, the alpha zombie version of Dieter could design not just defensive structures for Zeus’ horde, but possibly even elaborate traps and mazes for any fool who mistakenly steps into post-apocalyptic Las Vegas. Turning Dieter into an alpha zombie villain could allow Snyder to add Saw or even Squid Game-like death games to the mishmash of genres that is the Army series. Moreover, as Ludwig Dieter is the main bridge that connects Army of Thieves to Zack Snyder’s zombie-infested universe, it makes narrative sense for Dieter to become Army of the Dead 2’s main antagonist. After all, Army of Thieves didn’t reveal all those details about Dieter’s backstory for nothing.
Dieter Still Wants To Reunite With Army of Thieves Mastermind Gwendoline
Ludwig Dieter is only really interested in two things: cracking every single one of Hans Wagner’s legendary Ring Cycle safes, and being with Gwendoline. Dieter has already accomplished the former. However, as the events of Army of the Dead reveals, Dieter and Gwendoline are yet to fulfill their promise of finding each other. And although Army of Thieves shows Gwendoline likely ending up in jail after getting nabbed by Interpol, not much is revealed about her fate after. If Army of the Dead 2 turns Dieter into a villainous alpha zombie, Dieter’s memories of Gwendoline, and his desire to reunite with her, will definitely factor into his internal motivations. This could set up a great twist to Dieter and Gwendoline’s tragic story. After alpha zombie Dieter’s traps and mazes successfully deter would-be intruders to Zeus’ territory, a new team could bring in Gwendoline to solve the puzzles. And when Gwendoline realizes that the traps are somehow based on Hans Wagner’s work, she might suspect that she knows who’s behind them. Twisted star-crossed lovers would certainly fit within Zack Snyder’s genre-crossing and trope-subverting vision for the trilogy.
Alpha Zombie Dieter Caused The Army Of The Dead Time Loop
The first scenes of Army of the Dead not only reveal that the government is behind the zombie outbreak, but also that aliens are somehow involved. As an alpha zombie whose infection is potentially extraterrestrial in nature, Dieter’s knowledge of the Ring Cycle safes – and his access to the Götterdämmerung – could take on a whole new potential and meaning in Army of the Dead 2. In fact, it could be revealed that Dieter is behind Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead time loop all along. As Dieter explains in Army of Thieves, Wagner’ Götterdämmerung is also known as the Twilight of the Gods. In fact, Götterdämmerung is simply the German translation of the Norse phrase Ragnarok, which, at its core, is a story about rebirth. Dieter also calls the Götterdämmerung a “doorway to another realm.”
While these could all be considered metaphorical plot devices, they could also indicate that extraterrestrial or even supernatural forces are more involved in the Army series than initially suggested. Moreover, if Dieter does become an alpha zombie in Army of the Dead 2, the only viable way for him to reunite with Gwendoline would be to relive their time together through a classic time loop. As the title Planet of the Dead suggests, Army of the Dead 2 could also reveal that the zombies are part of an alien invasion plan, and causing the time loop could be the only way to reverse the outbreak and even allow alpha zombie Dieter to somehow redeem himself.
