Zack Snyder has commemorated the tenth anniversary of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with a not-so-subtle defense of the film and some revealing stories about how controversial it was, even before it hit theaters.
Appearing in the Happy Sad Confused On the podcast, Snyder recalled the success of the 2016 comic, which opened to largely negative reviews on March 25 of that year but still grossed $874 million worldwide.
A decade later, the director shows no signs of doubting his choices.
“My 100% honest reaction to BvS and how it’s received in the world is… Do you really want a movie that’s had all the edges taken away from it by focus groups?” he said.
“Do you really want a movie where decisions were made in a boardroom, or where proven ideas were presented for your enjoyment? Do you really want Kmart’s version of your story? Is that what you really want?”
Reflecting on the broader reaction to the film and his approach to DC characters, Snyder struck a philosophical note.
“Then you realize we were kicking the zeitgeist and we were going to piss people off,” he said.
“Not only do they not want their heroes to be deconstructed, but they do not want their heroes to fight each other in a way to deconstruct the reason for their existence. That is another sacrilege.”
batman vs superman was the second film in what became known online as the SnyderVerse, after man of steel and driving to justice league, a production that took on a life of its own after Snyder left due to a family tragedy and Joss Whedon was hired to complete it.
The subsequent fan campaign to release Snyder’s original cut became one of the most vocal movements in modern film history, ultimately resulting in Zack Snyder’s cut. justice league debuting on HBO Max in 2021.
Snyder spoke warmly about those fans, dismissing criticism of his reputation.
“Fans should never forget that they did that. They also raised a ton of money for suicide prevention. They did a lot of good. They got a lot of flak for being toxic or whatever, but they literally saved human lives. They can go fuck themselves if that’s what they think.”
The SnyderVerse ultimately ended before it could complete its planned trilogy of justice league films, although it has not completely closed the door to revisiting those stories in other formats.
“We live in a world where all of that is possible,” he said, confirming that he has “absolutely talked” about giving life to those films not made through animation or comics.
