Army of the Dead's Vanderohe proposed that the movie might take place in a time loop - what could it mean for the franchise if his theory is right?

Could the Army of the Dead franchise actually involve a time loop, and what could that mean for Army of the Dead 2? Zack Snyder's zombie-heist movie Army of the Dead debuted in May of 2021, and while the pre-release focus was all about Snyder's meshing of the two genres, fan theories about Army of the Dead's time loop soon sprung up as quite possibly the most unexpected element of its release. The film's prequel Army of Thieves, directed by Matthias Schweighöfer and centered on his Army of the Dead safecracker Ludwig Dieter, has brought about an even more in-depth examination of the franchise's purported time loop.

Additionally, comments made by Snyder during a livestream with Schweighöfer regarding Dieter's supposed death have added further layers to the conversation, Snyder suggesting multiple different outcomes for Dieter, which all in his words, "probably did happen." Few filmmakers have as much of a predilection for stirring the pot as Snyder does, and after the first two movies of the Army of the Dead franchise and Snyder's own teasing, the time loop is gradually becoming as much of a focus by minutiae-minded fans as the nature of the Alpha zombies.

Right now, the franchise's time loop is still a big mystery, so there's very little that can presently be said about it with certainty. At the same time, the two films released so far and Snyder himself have provided enough to indicate that there's something to be read into that aspect of the story. Here's what Army of the Dead's time loop theory is all about and what it could mean for Army of the Dead 2 if it's true.

Vanderohe's Time Loop Theory In Army Of The Dead

Army of the Dead first introduced the idea of a time loop into the story through observations made by the team of what seemed to be a previously failed heist attempt in the casino Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada). Vanderohe, a well-versed zombie killer, takes this idea and runs with it, proposing that the team is actually stuck in a time loop. Vanderohe primarily bases his theory on a collection of decaying skeletons near the safe and suggests Tanaka as "the puppet master."

While Vanderohe's theory seems to be somewhat in jest towards the nervous Dieter, the time loop idea was an element that viewers immediately began tirelessly pouring over. With the arrival of Army of Thieves, the prequel has given viewers more to dissect concerning the time loop theory. However, it also contorts it a fair amount in how it's seen through the eyes of Dieter.

How Army Of Thieves Adds To & Changes The Time Loop Theory

While Army of Thieves swaps the zombie-apocalypse element of Army of the Dead for the trappings of a romantic comedy wrapped in a heist movie, the zombies aren't completely out of the picture. Outside of news reports showing the Las Vegas zombie outbreak, Dieter, whose real name is Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert, also has repeated visions and nightmares of zombies, including one that shows what could be Dieter's final moments. Korina (Ruby O. Fee) proposes Dieter's zombie visions as possibly being "prophecies" and suggests both a literal foretelling of Dieter's demise and a metaphorical reading of Dieter battling his own lack of self-confidence.

With Snyder's aforementioned comments in the Q&A with Schweighöfer regarding different outcomes for Dieter in Army of the Dead, Army of Thieves at once seems to strengthen and complicate the argument for the time loop. Korina's proposal could add Dieter having some degree of ability to see the future into the equation, while the time loop could also be more symbolic in nature, or perhaps even both. Regardless, the time loop of the Army of the Dead universe is arguably now its biggest MacGuffin.

What It Means For Snyder's Army Universe If The Time Loop Is Real

The question for the Army of the Dead franchise is what the presence of a time loop could mean for the series. At the most basic level, future installments could theoretically show events from Army of the Dead or Army of Thieves repeating with a different spin put on them. Looking at the two movies in the franchise so far, though, that seems much too simplistic, especially with multiple choices for Dieter's fate and the complexities the prequel adds to understanding the time loop.

With the Army of the Dead universe possibly introducing a time loop into the zombie genre, perhaps a better understanding of it is what this could say for the creation of the zombies. Area 51 and aliens, while only passingly teased in Army of the Dead, are elements of the franchise that are set to be more heavily explored going forward, so extraterrestrial visitors might have something to do with it. At the moment, the time loop theory still remains very nebulous, so only so much can really be said conclusively on it, but the main thing to take away is that it throws the franchise's predictability out the window, in everything from where the story is going to which supposedly dead characters really have been killed off.

Will Army Of The Dead 2 Confirm The Time Loop Theory?

With so much of the time loop chatter around Army of the Dead and Army of Thieves being akin to solving a Rubik's cube, many are clearly hoping for Army of the Dead 2 to provide some answers. Snyder even stated in another interview the sequel will feature some kind of time loop exploration, and the fuel he added to the fire in his conversation with Schweighöfer seems to signal Snyder is leaning more and more in the direction of the time loop. However, Snyder has also stopped short of saying Army of the Dead 2 would confirm the reality of the time loop. With that on the table, it might be best to set expectations for Army of the Dead 2, dropping more teases in that general direction but still leaving the time loop open to interpretation.

One place where viewers might also get some more details about the time loop is in the animated series Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas. Like Army of Thieves, Lost Vegas will be a prequel to Army of the Dead, with much of the first film's cast returning to voice their respective characters. With the origins of Zeus (Richard Cetrone) as the first of the Alphas in Area 51 and the zombie war in Las Vegas sure to be major elements of the show, Lost Vegas could also provide some answers about the timeline, especially with Vanderohe's rough experiences giving him the perspective that leads him to his time loop theory in the first place. Still, it'll probably draw the line at providing any hard answers, leaving that to Army of the Dead 2, which itself will still probably keep the time loop relatively shrouded.

Even with everything that's already been said about it, Army of the Dead's time loop remains a deep and cavernous rabbit hole that only seems to raise more questions than answers with each new fan theory, new bit of information alluded to by Snyder, and hint towards an alien presence. Still, Army of the Dead, Army of Thieves, and Snyder's own commentary on the time loop certainly demonstrate that a lot more is going on in the Army of the Dead universe than meets the eye. The only thing that means for certain for Army of the Dead 2 is for the trip down the rabbit hole to continue.

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