Zack Snyder's DCEU vision and his abandoned stories could find success in animation, much like how Star Wars: The Clone Wars expanded on and helped fix parts of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Snyder launched the DCEU with Man of Steel in 2013 and continued it with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016, both of which received impassioned reactions by both supporters and detractors. The stories culminated in 2017’s Justice League; however, Snyder was unable to finish his story. During post-production, director Joss Whedon took over the project and oversaw the film's extensive reshoots. Whedon’s theatrical version of Justice League would become one of the most expensive films ever made, yet it made less than the previous installments in the DCEU.
For the longest time, all signs pointed to Warner Bros. and DC completely abandoning Snyder's stories in favor of a more lighthearted direction with the likes of Aquaman, Shazam and Wonder Woman 1984. However, thanks to the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign, the studio granted Snyder over $30 million to complete his version of Justice League for release on their new streaming service, HBO Max. With Warner Bros. showing an unexpected level of confidence and commitment to renewing Snyder’s vision, it is possible they might want more beyond the Snyder Cut. Still, they are a major studio, and thus they will also approach things pragmatically. There is a big difference between giving some money to finish a film compared to starting something new. Nonetheless, an animated extension of Snyder's DCEU could be the most sensible course going forward.
Clone Wars pulled off something similar in recent years, thus giving some practicality to the idea. Animation has long been a cost-effective way to build upon a story, especially in the mega-franchise that is Star Wars. It started with shows like Droids and Ewoks in the 1980s but has more recently found success with The Clone Wars, which ran for five seasons on Cartoon Network, one on Netflix and then a final season Disney+. After the Clone Wars finale earned a lot of love in the first half of 2020, it may now serve as inspiration for DC.
Justice League Artist Wants to Make Animated DCEU Productions
Most artists working in the film and television industry would agree that, much like a superhero team, their efforts are highly collaborative but require a distinct figurehead to manage and direct the creative vision. Dave Filoni provided this for The Clone Wars by translating George Lucas' vision into the animated medium, which is similar yet distinct from live-action filmmaking. Filoni was not just some random cartoonist from Cartoon Network. He was brought over from Avatar: The Last Airbender because of his outspoken love for the galaxy far, far away. Filoni brought the right mix of reverence for both the format and subject material to tell a Star Wars story tailored specifically for animation.
Jay Oliva has a similar relationship to previous DC animated productions as well as Zack Snyder himself. He has already directed nine animated DC movies plus 10 episodes of Young Justice and worked as a story board artist on Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Wonder Woman, and Justice League. The sheer quantity of titles on Oliva's resume makes his experience even more fitting than Filoni's. He clearly has an intimate understanding of Snyder's process, as storyboard artists help visualize a film during the pre-production stage. And with six of those animated films earning a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, he has a reputation for quality and quantity.
Clone Wars Improved People's Perceptions of the Prequels
The Clone Wars feels like it came about at exactly the right time to revive the core Star Wars fan base. Things were dicey after the divisive response to the Disney-produced films, which many people felt failed to tell a complete narrative. Similar criticisms were hurled at the Star Wars prequel trilogy, but the supplemental story provided by The Clone Wars helped remedy this. Not only does this result in a crowd-pleasing experience, but it also casts a positive light on the existing stories. The once wildly-despised Star Wars prequels have undergone a major reevaluation the last few years, in no small part due to The Clone Wars helping flesh out the characters and story the movies either skipped or ran out of time to cover. From a more relatable Anakin Skywalker to a better understanding of the galaxy’s complex political situation, The Clone Wars provided much needed details that retroactively made the prequels more understandable and enjoyable.
The DCEU ran through a parallel path but with even more problems. The collective love for Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman meant that a lot of people cared about Snyder’s trilogy. Man of Steel and Batman v Superman drew strong positive and negative reactions and Justice League landed with a loud thud. Snyder’s style is one that calls for grand and sweeping epics, so of course a mere three films cannot cover everything. Animated DCEU films could go back and fill in the stories many people still wish to see, and thus help complete the story. Snyder already did this by restoring 32 minutes in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition, which gave more attention to Clark Kent, solved some plot holes, and spent more time on world building. So, logically, some animation projects dedicated to similar points could surely do the same.
Animation is Cheaper Than Live-Action
The Clone Wars would simply have never happened in live action, especially with audiences showing a lot of weariness after the prequels. The battles are too explosive, the worlds are too huge, and the cast alone would be incredibly difficult to assemble and pay. And now with COVID-19 shutting down or fundamentally altering movie and television sets all around the world, major projects are harder to produce than ever before. A huge reason why Snyder’s films can be counted as financial disappointments is their box office in comparison to their budgets. The high-profile stars and ambitious visual effects necessitate high production costs. So, even though they appeal to a group of fans, they can’t make enough to justify the money spent. This is where animation’s much lower price tag is more likely to get more stories told in this universe.
Even if the Justice League Snyder Cut is a huge success, it's still adding somewhere at least $30 million to the reported $300 million budget of Justice League. This iron will only remain hot for so long, and Warner Bros will need to strike fast while the Snyder Cut is still a phenomenon. Rather than live-action movies or shows, they could much more easily get an animated series out a year or so after the Snyder Cut releases.
What An Animated DCEU Could Look Like
There are a lot of story beats and unanswered questions in Snyder's DCEU story to fill animated adventures. For one, Batman v Superman's Knightmare sequence features a vision by Bruce Wayne in which he leads a band of soldiers against Superman and Darkseid's parademons on a decimated Earth. A time-traveling Flash then attempts to convey to Bruce that he needs to avoid this future. The exact events that would lead to this vision are still unclear, and many people would like to return to it. Another unanswered question regarding Batman is how he became so violent before the movie. An empty Robin costume on display in the Batcave implies that, like the comics, Joker killed one of the iterations of his sidekick. However, that event in the comics did not push Batman this far, so an explanation of this version's tortured past could help audiences better understand him.
On the same note, Man of Steel features Superman's introduction into the world and ends with Clark Kent finally donning his iconic glasses and becoming a reporter. Batman v Superman begins with Clark Kent as an established journalist and shows that Superman has grown weary as the world's savior. This is a big jump that leaves out a huge piece of the Man of Steel's development. An animated story covering the time between films would contain some classic Superman adventures and show both sides of his identity. And he's not the only hero that could use some solo side adventures. Justice League reveals that there are multiple heroes operating in this world who have had little to no screen time, especially the Flash and Martian Manhunter (disguised as General Swanwick). These are two classic Justice League members who could serve as great starting points for animated adventures, which could act as testing grounds for potential live action stories.
With these questions answered and missing pieces put back into place, Snyder’s full DCEU vision would be much more fulfilled in addition to his cut of Justice League. Taking a few tips from Star Wars and Disney+ could give fans their long awaited stories and round out a larger story containing some of the world's most iconic characters. Star Wars: The Clone Wars already pulled this off and gave new life to its fan base. Warner Bros would undoubtedly like to do the same with the DCEU.
