Zack Snyder Responds To Restore The SnyderVerse Campaign
For weeks now, fans have been hounding Warner Bros. to restore the SnyderVerse following the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League, and now the man himself has weighed in and responded to the fan movement, as well as the chances of it actually happening. Before we get to that however, I think it's important that we give a little background on what has actually been happening, for those of you still confused as to what is going on with the DCEU.
Zack Snyder was the original director for 2017's Justice League. However, due to tragic personal circumstances, he had to announce that he was stepping away. Following this, it was announced that director Joss Whedon (fresh off a pair of successful Marvel team-ups, The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron) would take over and see the film through postproduction and reshoots. At the time, there were a lot of mixed feelings regarding this from fans of the DCEU, mostly due to the fact the DCEU was known for being much darker than the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and how this may not work with Whedon's generally lighter tone.
Despite this, it went ahead and was released in 2017, but fans and critics weren't exactly jumping for joy. The movie received some tough criticism, largely aimed at the CGI of the movie's main villain and then the whole thing with Henry Cavill's mustache (let's not open that can of worms again). Plus, the film seemed to be lacking any cohesive storyline or proper character development.
Not long after it was released, it became known that most of Snyder's version had actually been filmed, and so fans started flocking to social media demanding that the "Snyder Cut" be released. After a couple of years, it was announced that their wish would be granted. Zack Snyder's Justice League was released on HBO Max in March 2021 and has been met very warmly by fans and critics as a noted improvement on the 2017 version of the film.
Whilst it was an improvement and fans have praised Warner Bros. for eventually giving them what they wanted, it has also caused them a brand new, much bigger problem that they were likely not expecting. Zack Snyder's Justice League provided a lot of new plot points previously missing from the 2017 theatrical release, and Snyder himself has shared a number of details on where the franchise would have potentially gone under his direction - such as sequels focusing on the Knightmare future as well as other, important members of the Justice League, such as Green Lantern John Stewart. This, coupled with the success of Snyder's version of Justice League, is what has caused the creation of the ''Restore the SnyderVerse" Campaign.
During an interview at Justice Con, Snyder was asked for his thoughts on the campaign, to which his response was:
"I'll just say this. It is a concept that I think shows reverence for the work. In that way, whatever it results in I have no idea. Most likely nothing. ... The reverence for the work is something I would never dismiss or in any way say I don't respect. Of course, I would give my entire effort to support. ... If someone says to me no matter who that person is if they say to me 'I really loved that thing I wish you would make another one' I'm personally not a person who says 'forget it' because I think that is rude."
This is anything but a straight cut answer. However, it does suggest that he would be open to continuing the story under the right circumstances, if the want is great enough. The main obstacle here is going to be his relationship with Warner Bros., which has likely become a bit strained in the last few years. He has been very open regarding the many conflicts he has had with the studio over the years, and it doesn't seem like they are going to be put to bed anytime soon. Plus, Snyder has had his hands full working with Netflix on his upcoming movie Army of the Dead, as well as various other projects based around this movie.
Regardless of that, the support for Snyder's version of the DCEU continues to grow, even so much so that Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has even said herself and other DCEU directors consider Snyder's version of Justice League canon over the actual theatrical release.
So what do you think? Could Snyder be brought back to help reshape the future of the DCEU? Only time will tell, but one thing that can be taken away from all of this, is that we can never underestimate the power of a united fandom. They know what they want and will be determined to get it!
Until next time.
Source(s): Screen Rant