Zack Snyder has been quite vocal about what his version of the DCEU might have been if allowed to continue on, but the simple fact is audience didn’t respond to his grim ‘n gritty take on DC’s superheroes. Personally, I found his version of Superman to be quite inspiring in Man of Steel, and didn’t mind that he killed because it led to his understanding of the consequences of doing so. Snyder’s Batman also had its merits, but audiences clearly did not like the violence attributed to his take on the Dark Knight.
It’s funny that, as Warner Bros. embarks on their most light-hearted movie yet with Shazam (my review here), Snyder is out and defending his approach to superheroes, which is that they are killers and folks should just deal with that. The director was attending a Director’s Cut event that gave us a #SnyderCut nobody really asked for, and an attendee captured what appears to be a defensive rant…
“Someone says to me, ‘Batman killed a guy.’ I’m like, ‘fuck, really? Wake the fuck up,’” explained Snyder. “I guess that’s what I’m saying. Once you’ve lost your virginity to this fucking movie and then you come and say to me something about like, ‘My superhero wouldn’t do that.’ I’m like, ‘Are you serious?’ I’m like down the fucking road on that.”
“It’s a cool point of view to be like, ‘My heroes are still innocent. My heroes didn’t fucking lie to America. My heroes didn’t embezzle money from their corporations. My heroes didn’t fucking commit any atrocities.’ That’s cool. But you’re living in a fucking dream world.”
I mean, damn Snyder. Okay, so on the one hand I get what Snyder is trying to do. He’s trying to put these iconic characters in a modern context and the world is pretty damned grim out there. Snyder thinks all of these heroes that we would normally look up would be just as corrupt as any other person with power is. That’s a take that should have him directing episodes of The Boys, but not Superman movies.
But I think Snyder operates on extremes when there should be a middle ground. Marvel managed to inject modern day fears into their movies, most notably Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War, while still presenting the Avengers as heroes to be respected.
Feel free to chime in with your thoughts.
LOOOOL ZACK SHUTTING THAT SHIT DOWN pic.twitter.com/Th4th0wGen— 214 (@boomborks) March 24, 2019
