Zack Snyder’s DC Extended Universe has finally ended with the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The ten-year journey has been riddled with obstacles for the director as he fought studio interference and dissatisfied fans while trying to bring his vision to life. The director recently saw the release of his sci-fi space opera Rebel Moon.
While reminiscing about his time in the DC franchise, Snyder spoke about his initial plans with Man of Steel and its sequel Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. The filmmaker revealed that makers had planned on connecting Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight universe with the DCEU, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt taking over the cowl and cape.
Zack Snyder Wanted To Connect The Dark Knight Universe With The DCU
After the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was time for its chief rival, DC Comics, to create an interconnected cinematic universe of their own. The studio tapped Zack Snyder to kickstart the universe with a Superman film and he began working on Man of Steel. Christopher Nolan, who helmed The Dark Knight trilogy was brought on board to produce the project.
However, Nolan did not want his The Dark Knight trilogy to be muddied with other spinoffs or universes. His take on Batman was a more realistic and gritty take on the source material, and there was less scope for fantastical elements like Superman. Zack Snyder, however, reportedly did think of trying to connect Nolan’s films with his own DCEU.
Snyder mentioned in the Happy, Sad, and Confused podcast that though Nolan wanted to keep it apart, the prospect of connecting the two was not completely off the table. However, they could not use Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne in the new films as the ending of The Dark Knight Rises saw him hand over the baton to Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake.
“It was not 100 percent off the table. We did talk about it a little bit…Maybe that’s why we didn’t do it. It would have been Joseph. Which could have been cool. I don’t blame [Christopher Nolan]. I like that his thing doesn’t get muddied by these other touches.”
Ben Affleck had reportedly not yet been cast as the Caped Crusader while Snyder and Co. had already announced a Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice at Comic Con. Though Snyder wanted to try out a Batman film with Gordon-Levitt, they reportedly decided against it as they felt fans would want to see Bruce Wayne fight Batman.
Zack Snyder Still Wants To Make A Batman Film
While Zack Snyder handled Batman in the film Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, he mentioned that he would still love to take a stab at the character if he got a chance to adapt Frank Miller’s iconic graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns. The novel was known for its gritty and more violent take on an older Batman.
Snyder reportedly took inspiration from the iconic novel for Batman v Superman, choosing to show an older Batman in his 40s instead of a younger one in his initial days as a vigilante like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. While Snyder did not get to complete his Batman arc in the grander scheme of things, he mentioned that he still wished to adapt the novel,
“I think it would just be its own thing. I would do it 100 percent Watchmen style. I don’t even think it’d be that expensive, to be honest. It’s pretty gritty.”
Zack Snyder’s Watchmen was considered to be one of the better comic book films in hindsight, though it was not a huge theatrical success. Snyder exited from the DCU after he left the Justice League film midway to deal with the death of his daughter, after which Joss Whedon was brought on to complete the film for release. The film’s production was controversial at the time and the resulting film was a box office bomb.
