What role does Area 51 have to play in Army of the Dead, and what do zombies share in common with aliens? A top-secret facility belonging to the U.S. government, Area 51 has long provided conspiracy fans with a focal point for their most eccentric theories. Naturally, Hollywood has also taken full advantage of the intrigue and mystery Area 51 offers, regularly calling upon the site as a source of the paranormal and unholy. Traditionally, however, Area 51 is all about the extra-terrestrials. According to the tinfoil hat crew, crashed UFOs and alien bodies are taken there for dissection and experimentation, but in Army of the Dead, aliens are replaced by zombies... or are they one and the same?
The exact origins of Army of the Dead's progenitor zombie, Zeus, remain unknown. Zack Snyder has confirmed there's a story to tell, but Zeus' true nature is being saved for another project. Fortunately, Snyder has proffered some details about the zombie overlord. In a previous life, Zeus was a soldier known as Richards, who volunteered for something and thereafter found himself in a state of undead decay. Zeus was kept at Area 51, but escaped while being transported to an unknown location and instigated the Vegas attack (this happens in Army of the Dead's opening scene). The details in between are murky; how does Area 51 become involved?
One would assume that whatever "experiment" Richards volunteered for was being conducted within the veil of secrecy known as Area 51. It seems unlikely that the military would ship the subject to Nevada from elsewhere, only to risk another transit shortly after. Richards must've entered the facility as a man, been altered in an experiment gone wrong (or gone right?), and then the unsuccessful attempt at transport was made, perhaps so further studies could be conducted, or maybe because the creation was being sold (Hunter Bly's shady actions confirm a business element to the outbreak).
But what about them little green men that are so often attributed to Area 51? Army of the Dead heavily hints toward an extra-terrestrial backstory, both with a conversation between soldiers, and via a hidden UFO Easter egg. In Army of the Dead's opening scene, the driver and his mate discuss what their enigmatic cargo could be, covering everything from the "Staff of Ra" to the original U.S. constitution. Soon, their conversation turns to aliens, and though both men dance around the topic, the convoy is destroyed just before the "A" word is uttered. The hushed tones of this exchange suggest there's significance to their extra-terrestrial theory, and this is supported when two UFOs whiz past in exactly the same sequence. In addressing the origins of the outbreak, it would seem Zack Snyder is winking at the viewer and pointing a big finger to the sky.
This still doesn't explain why Army of the Dead plumps for Area 51 as its jumping-off point. As the film itself acknowledges, the site is renowned for its connections to outer space, not six feet under. Like many elements of Army of the Dead, this could be Snyder's twist on an much older trope. In George A. Romero's "...of the Dead" franchise, it's strongly implied that the zombie virus was brought to Earth via a space satellite, making the pathogen alien in origin. Snyder seems to be borrowing the same idea, but adds another step in between. The virus was brought to Earth, then injected into a test subject. The result was Zeus - a living dead super soldier with an affinity for capes.
The alien connection would explain why Richards' experiment was carried out in Area 51 specifically, clear up the unexplained weirdness surrounding Army of the Dead's zombies (what's that blue stuff?), and make Area 51 a more logical place for Zack Snyder to start a zombie outbreak than if the virus originated on God's green Earth.
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