Justice League director, Zack Snyder, doesn't mind that the DC Extended Universe has thrived since his departure, heaping praise on his fellow directors. Snyder originated the DCEU with 2013's Man Of Steel, which saw a new, more dour version of Superman hit screens. That film was divisive, but not nearly as polarizing as Snyder's followup, Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. That film was met with harsh critical reviews and underperformed at the box office, leading Warner Bros. to rethink their superhero plans.
Amid creative clashes with the studio and a family tragedy, Snyder left production of Justice League before the movie was completed. Avengers director, Joss Whedon, was brought in to rework and reshoot much of the film, resulting in the 2017 theatrical release that pleased essentially no one. That version of the film bombed both with critics and audiences, arguably DC's biggest cinematic failure. But the ship has been righted somewhat since then, with films like Aquaman, Shazam, and Wonder Woman - which actually came out a few months before Justice League - seemingly hitting on a winning formula of warm, earnest superhero storytelling.
For his part, Snyder holds no ill will toward the people making DCEU movies now. In a new interview with The New York Times, he notes the movies are well done, but perhaps lack the slavish cult devotion that films like Batman V Superman seem to engender.
I couldn’t be happier. It doesn’t sting for me at all. Those movies are cool, and they’re really well-made and excellent. But “BvS,” love it or hate it, it’s probably the most mentioned movie in hashtags and references. It’s the closest thing to a cult film that could exist at this level of pop culture. Am I a provocateur? A little bit. Is my job to make some pop-culture piece of candy that you eat and forget about the next day? Nah. I would rather [expletive] you up in a movie than make it nice and pretty for everybody.
Snyder notes his penchant for controversy is somewhat lacking in these new movies, which has made them less lightning rods for controversy, but also more universally accepted:
Let’s be frank, there’s no cult of Aquaman. Jason is a force of nature, and by all means, I want there to be 100 Aquaman movies because he’s an awesome guy. But it’s not controversial. And I have purposely, because I love it, made the movies difficult.
Snyder's not wrong - his movies often go out of their way to court controversy, sometimes more effectively than others. That sort of high wire act can be dangerous when a studio is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on projects that feature their crown jewel characters like Batman and Superman. Snyder's deconstruction of DC's big two certainly has a devoted fanbase, but it was never an iteration that became universally popular in the same way the Marvel Cinematic Universe films have achieved.
Still, it's a credit to Snyder that he's both self aware enough to realize movies like his Justice League aren't for everyone, and that he praises directors like Patty Jenkins and James Wan, who have seemingly figured out how to make DC movies that are both good and more broadly appealing. Snyder may be leaving the world of DC superheroes behind him, but it's admirable that he's still acting as a cheerleader for the franchise, especially considering the difficulties he had with the studio.
Source: New York Times