Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. did not part ways in the best possible terms, but they were never supposed to collaborate in the DCEU at all in the first place. Snyder was not WB’s first choice to direct their long-planned Superman movie, which took ages to conceive after Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns. Darren Aronofsky, who directed The Whale, was reportedly eyed for Superman’s revival movie.
Snyder was eventually picked as the Man of Steel director, only because WB trusted him to pull off the film in a very short time. At the time, WB was running on a time crunch to make a Superman movie due to the potential lawsuits from the Siegel estate.
WB Picked Zack Snyder To Direct Man of Steel Over Another Director For One Reason
Warner Bros. began planning a Superman film series in 2008 after Bryan Singer‘s disastrous Superman Returns. Several comic book writers were called in to pitch their stories. After hearing several pitches, the executives selected David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan‘s pitch for the film. The studio executives also had a director in mind.
Darren Aronofsky impressed the studio with his projects The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke, and Black Swan, which was released in 2010. According to reports, Aronofsky entered discussions with the studio to direct Man of Steel, right after Black Swan hit theaters (via Vulture). However, Aronofsky was later dropped by the studio, who instead went for the Watchmen director Zack Snyder.
WB’s sudden loss of interest in Aronofsky had a very valid reason, according to insider sources. These sources revealed to Vulture that Goyer’s screenplay for Man of Steel had several issues that had to be sorted by a capable director. However, WB also did not have much time in hand to start the production of the film.
According to a court ruling from August 2009, Superman creator Jerry Seigel‘s family recaptured 50% of the rights to the character’s origins. The judge also ruled that WB did not owe any additional royalties from previous films to the families (via Variety). However, this WB win came with a caveat that the production of Man of Steel had to begin by 2011, failing which the Siegel estate could sue the studio for lost revenue (via Variety).
Aronofsky, being the perfectionist director, would have taken more time to develop Goyer’s script. Since WB could not afford this, they instead went with their second-best option, Snyder, for Man of Steel. Interestingly, WB offered another project to the Mother! director, who did not take the offer eventually.
Darren Aronofsky Stepped Out Of Another Superhero Movie For A Personal Reason
Besides Man of Steel, Darren Aronofsky was also in the running to direct the second Wolverine film in the X-Men franchise, The Wolverine. Aronofsky entered negotiations after Bryan Singer reportedly turned down the film (via Superhero Hype!). In an interview with Vulture in 2010, Hugh Jackman confirmed that Aronofsky was directing the Wolverine sequel. He shared that the film was “going to be out of the box” with The Fountain director at the helm.
However, Aronofsky backed out of the film in March 2011. He was informed that the bulk of the shooting was going to take place in Japan. He shared that he could not stay away from his family for a long period of time. He shared (via THR):
“As I talked more about the film with my collaborators at Fox, it became clear that the production of The Wolverine would keep me out of the country for almost a year… I was not comfortable being away from my family for that length of time. I am sad that I won’t be able to see the project through, as it is a terrific script and I was very much looking forward to working with my friend, Hugh Jackman, again”.
Aronofsky was eventually replaced by James Mangold as the director, who also went on to direct the third Wolverine film, Logan. Darren Aronofsky later entered into the works of the epic biblical drama film Noah.
Man of Steel is now available for streaming on Max, while The Wolverine is available on Disney+.
