Rising actress Ella Purnell arguably delivered her breakout performance for the decade in Zack Snyder’s 2021 film Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, a movie belonging to a novel genre that can only be classified under the moniker of a “zombie heist.”

However, Snyder’s nascent franchise—despite being helmed by mᴀssive stars like Dave Bautista—was canceled by Netflix last year despite plans for a follow-up animated series. Consequently, the fate of Ella Purnell’s character, Kate Ward, remains unresolved to this day, as there are no current plans for an Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ sequel.

Army Of The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ’s Ending Set Up A Much Better Sequel (With Purnell As The Main Star)

The crux of Snyder’s Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ centers around a doomed plot to recover $200 million from a casino vault in zombie-quarantined Las Vegas. The leader of this heist, Scott Ward (Dave Bautista), ᴀssembles a rag-tag group including his daughter Kate (Ella Purnell), who only joins the plot to save her friend Geeta (Huma Qureshi) from the quarantine zone.

What’s fascinating about Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (without treading too far into spoiler territory) is its take on the zombie outbreak genre, particularly regarding the hierarchy of the unᴅᴇᴀᴅ. Indeed, several of the film’s adversaries prove far more intelligent than your typical zombies, a reality that makes the stakes all the more formidable for Ward and his crew.

This all culminates with an ending designed to establish Ella Purnell as the series’ lead going forward—a handoff that unfortunately appears ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in the water at the moment. Moreover, the film’s planned sequel, Planet of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, would’ve placed Kate at the center of a larger zombie-filled conflict that fans of the franchise might only see in fan fiction.

Why Army Of The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ’s Canceled Sequel May Be A Blessing In Disguise For Ella Purnell

Despite the latent potential in Zack Snyder’s Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ franchise, there’s a silver lining in its cancellation for Ella Purnell, who’s gone on to star in projects like Sweetpea and Arcane. Furthermore, any risk of being typecast as a quiet, Kate Ward-type character has vanished with Netflix’s decision to quietly abandon the franchise.

Free from the stylish but shallow influence of Snyder, Purnell has gone on to garner acclaim as Jackie in Yellowjackets and Lucy in Fallout, proving she has in some way conquered the desert of Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ for the equally inhabitable wasteland of Bethesda’s radiated, post-apocalyptic world.