Zack Snyder remains interested in exploring the DC universe and its characters but with a specific condition. Snyder stepped down from the DCEU due to personal reasons during the filming of Justice League. However, he had a strained relationship with Warner Bros., as the studio was dissatisfied with his cut of the film. This prevented the Man of Steel director from ever returning to the DCEU again, but he hinted that he would consider a return to DC only if his DCEU characters were brought under Netflix.
This condition may not align with Warner Bros.’ interests, given their reluctance to give up control over a major IP. Fans tend to side with Snyder in this matter, blaming the studio for not trusting the Snyderverse in the first place.
Zack Snyder’s Condition To Take Charge Of DCEU Once Again
Warner Bros. handed the duty of revamping the DC Universe to James Gunn and Peter Safran, who were appointed as the CEOs of DC Studios. The new restructuring involved a complete overhauling of what Zack Snyder had built since 2013, beginning with Man of Steel. While Gunn is busy creating the new universe, Snyder is still interested in exploring his DC characters.
During the promotion of his latest Netflix film, Rebel Moon, Snyder was asked whether he would like to continue his vision for the DC universe. While Snyder was all game for that, he had a strange demand. The Sucker Punch director wanted his DCEU characters to be brought under Netflix’s umbrella. It appears that the streaming platform has offered him more creative freedom than WB ever did. Snyder shared in the interview posted by @culturaocio:
“If Netflix owned the rights to my… to the DC characters in my universe, of course I would [return]. Absolutely.”
Unfortunately, WB will never give up their rights, even that of the DCEU characters which they consider widely unpopular. However, the David Zaslav-led conglomerate has allowed almost 14 DC movies to stream on Netflix, starting this year (via The Wrap). The roster of DC films on Netflix includes all DCEU films along with Robert Pattinson‘s The Batman and DC League of Super-Pets.
While it is highly unlikely that Snyder’s vision will come true due to the development of DCU films, WB cannot overlook the fact that Snyderverse films always had the audience and interest. To further add salt to WB’s wounds, Snyder’s earlier movies began gaining positive word-of-mouth among audiences despite being bashed by critics.
Zack Snyder’s Universe Had A Lot Of Unrecognized Potential
Zack Snyder fans strongly believe that WB did not do proper justice to the Snyderverse. The executives at the studio wanted an MCU-like cinematic universe for the DC Comics characters. The one fact they overlooked while attempting to compete with Marvel was the fact that their competitor had begun early and had created a billion-dollar ensemble film almost five years after its inception.
The Watchmen director’s earlier movies Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman made more earnings than the first few films in the MCU. The Henry Cavill-starrer earned $670 million, which is more than what Iron Man 2 had earned. Despite its dismal reviews, BvS made $874 million at the box office. However, WB took their biggest misstep following BvS‘ poor reviews and put Snyder’s creativity on a leash in Justice League. The reception of Snyder’s version of the film, released in 2021, just proved how wrong WB was.
Following the exit of Snyder, DCEU saw its peak with Aquaman and then began the slow death of the universe. As fans await to see a new era in DC, it is concerning that canceling and abandoning projects have become the major course correction techniques for the new WB regime.
