The superhero genre continues to be wildly popular, with a number of shared universes competing at the box office. While co-CEO James Gunn is working on the new DCU, some fans are still looking back on the DCEU (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription). The first few titles were directed by Zack Snyder, who recently gave his thoughts about the criticism that came at Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Folks who have been watching the DC movies in order might recall the strong reaction that came after Batman v Superman hit theaters. Some fans took umbrage with Batman using a gun in the Knightmare scene, while others thought the director's cut was necessary for the narrative to make sense. During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Snyder got real about that discourse, saying:
My 100% honest reaction to [Batman v Superman] and how it’s received in the world is that, do you really want a movie that’s had all the edges shaved off it by the focus groups. Do you really want a movie [where] decisions have been made in the boardroom or tested ideas are being rendered for your enjoyment? Do you really want the Kmart version of your story? Is that what you really want?
Honestly, some points were made. Say what you want about Snyder, but he's always got a very specific director's vision with his movies. And he thinks that's more valuable than creating a DC project that's coming from studios heads and focus groups.... even if the poor reviews for Batman V Superman resulted in that Sad Affleck meme.
As the threat of AI looms, Zack Snyder's above comments feel all the more significant. There are concerns about the industry possibly favoring AI over human voices, and the 300 director wants to ensure that movies are still made by individuals, rather than by committee. And he's got plenty of fans who would likely agree with him.
Zack Snyder definitely took some bold swings during Batman v Superman, even if some of them weren't well received by DC fans. The version of Bruce Wayne we were introduced to was bitter and brutal, seemingly breaking his no-kill rule a number of times throughout its runtime. Then there was in the infamous Martha scene, which has been memed a number of times over the years. But hey, at least he had a clear vision for his version of the comic book story.
The next DC movie hitting is Supergirl on June 26th as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to wait and see if Snyder ever returns to the comic book genre.
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