Before James Gunn and Peter Safran took the reins for DC Studios, Warner Bros. put their faith in director/writer Zack Snyder to bring his version of the DC Universe to life in the 2010s. Serving as the director of Man of Steel (2013), Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), part of Justice League (2017), and Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), his work garnered wildly mixed results, with some fans loving it and others… not so impressed. While his work with DC ended with his director’s cut of Justice League on HBO Max five years ago, his films still have an impact on comic book movie fans today, many of whom still want him to return to the franchise.
For years, Snyder and his fans have heard countless complaints about his movies, including the overly dark tone, the sometimes hard-to-parse visuals, and the controversial story decisions (most notably, Batman v. Superman’s “Martha” moment). As the landscape for superhero movies continues to change for DC, the man behind the Snyderverse has plenty of his own thoughts on the matter.
Joining the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, Snyder addressed the reaction to his work on Batman v. Superman and touched on the perception of his fans as “toxic.” Looking at the reaction to this movie, he held it up as an more artistically pure alternative to the usual studio fare:
“Do you really want a movie that’s had all the edges shaved off by focus groups? Do you really want a movie where the decisions have been made in a board room, or tested ideas have been rendered for your enjoyment? Do you really want the KMart version of your story? Is that what you really want?”
Snyder specifically loved the ground he was able to cover across that trilogy, also reflecting on the struggle of getting Batman v Superman to be rated PG-13 instead of R. According to Snyder, the MPAA leaned toward giving the movie an R rating simply because they didn’t “like the idea of Batman fighting Superman,” which shocked him:
“I love the mythological journey we went on in those three movies. The intensity of where we ended up with ‘Justice League’ and how it evolved and where it came from. That whole insanity. When we were trying for the PG-13 rating on ‘BvS,’ the MPAA kept kicking the movie back to us saying, ‘It’s still an R.’ I remember someone saying we got a report from the MPAA saying, ‘We just don’t like the idea of Batman fighting Superman. That kind of makes it an R. He really hits him hard with that sink. That’s rude. That feels like an R.’ I’m just like, ‘Okay… let’s just pretend it’s not Batman vs. Superman for one second.'”
Asked about the idea of continuing his story in other media, such as a comic book or animation, Snyder refused to rule out the idea. He also gave heartfelt credit to his fans for their passion for his work, saying they “raised a ton of money for suicide prevention” in the process. He concluded by addressing the idea of those fans as a toxic online presence, arguing that they “literally saved human lives” with some NSFW language:
“I would never say there is no way. I was on the ride that created ‘Justice League,’ and if you were in my shoes, there were numerous times, dark times, when there was no chance that there will ever be my version of it. It will never exist. It can’t… cost, politics, everything stood against. And yet, it exists, The fans should never forget they did that. They also raised a ton of money for suicide prevention. They did a lot of good. They catch a lot of flak for being toxic or whatever, but they literally saved human lives. You can go f*** yourself if that’s what you think.”
Will Zack Snyder Ever Return to DC Universe?
Warner Bros.
Even for all the controversy surrounding Batman v Superman, Man of Steel, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, legions of fans want to see him come back for more work with the comics giant. While that may happen at some point, DC’s future is set for the next few years.
DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are pushing further into their Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters slate, which started with Creature Commandos on HBO Max and Superman in theaters. This year, three new projects are in line for release, with Lanterns on HBO Max sometime this summer, Supergirl in theaters on June 26, and Clayface in theaters on Oct. 26.
Some fans have also latched onto the idea that Snyder could potentially become one of the next directors in the new DC Universe under Gunn and Safran’s watch. Movies like the upcoming The Authority have come up as potential options for Snyder to direct, and the franchise still has many movies and TV shows in the early stages of development, some of which haven’t even been announced.
While Snyder’s future with his own Snyderverse or the new DCU is still a mystery, it’s clear that he has plenty of ideas left to bring to life for the biggest heroes in this long-running franchise.