Dave Bautista Still Hasn't Met Army of The Dead Co-Star Tig Notaro

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Dave Bautista says he still hasn't met his Army of the Dead co-star, Tig Notaro, after the actress was digitally inserted into the film post-production. Army of the Dead was released on Netflix on May 21st, 2021, and has received mostly positive feedback from critics. The film is directed, produced, and written by Zack Snyder, who has returned to the zombie genre 17-years after his debut feature film Dawn of the Dead.

Army of the Dead is a heist movie set in Las Vegas, with a unique zombie twist. Originally, Chris D'Elia was slated to appear in the film in the pilot role. However, shortly after filming, allegations of sexual harassment arose against D'Elia, and his role was subsequently cut from the film. Thus, comedian and actress Notaro was selected to take on the role and fill in the gaps left by D'Elia's removal. Of course, the movie couldn't be entirely re-shot with Notaro, so she had to be meticulously edited into the movie using a green screen and CG scans.

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As reported by IndieWire, Bautista has yet to meet Notaro since her appearance in Army of the Dead was digitally inserted after filming. Bautista finds it strange that he starred in the same movie as Notaro but never got the opportunity to meet her. Check out his statement below:

"It was weird, because, you know, I wasn’t there. And when I watch it, I feel like I was there. There’s a connection that’s missing there. But I don’t feel like the movie misses a beat. Anybody who doesn’t know that that’s the case won’t pick up on it at all. Tig fits right in, and her chemistry fits right in. What really bothers me, when I watch this film — it bothers me that I don’t know Tig. I feel like I should know her. I want to meet her, and I want to hug her and tell her how amazing she was in the film. I’ve been able to do that with all my other co-stars, and I haven’t been able to do it with Tig because I haven’t met her yet. I think she’s amazing and is incredible in the film."

Snyder revealed that it cost millions for Netflix to replace D'Elia with Notaro, but it was worth the effort. As Bautista notes, most viewers would not be able to detect that Notaro was digitally inserted. However, while it worked well for the actual film, it must have been a difficult journey off-screen. The only co-star that Notaro physically appeared on screen with was de la Reguera, in a scene that took about half a day to film. Every other scene, Notaro filmed solo in front of a green screen. Not only was it difficult for her, but for the others as well, as Bautista acknowledges that there was a missed connection there. Despite the drawbacks of being digitally edited into a film, Notaro managed to pull it off.

Notaro's insertion into Army of the Dead is truly something else, and it also reveals quite a bit about the respectability of Netflix and Snyder for willingly accepting the cost of millions to prevent an alleged sexual abuser from appearing in the film. Sexual assault allegations are, sadly, becoming all too common in Hollywood as celebrities choose to use their power and influence in corrupt ways. Army of the Dead's solution suggests that there are better ways that films can handle such allegations within their cast and crew to avoid supporting known abusers. Hollywood needs to take initiative in diminishing scenarios where an abuser can push their allegations under the carpet and still receive praise, awards, and compensation despite their actions. Hopefully, more films choose to follow the example of Army of the Dead in dealing with sexual abuse and refusing to give abusers a platform.