Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice split DC Comics fans down the midde about its quality, both when it was first released to today. According to director Zack Snyder, what made the film so divisive was that some fans just didn’t pay attention as hard as they needed to.
For those who weren’t around in 2016, the hype for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice couldn’t have been more intense. It was the first film to really connect to a true DC Universe helmed by Zack Snyder, the on-screen debut of Ben Affleck’s Batman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, and Doomsday footage from the trailer teased an adaptation of the much beloved comic Superman: Doomsday. On top of all that, it was set to hit theaters within a month and a half of another superhero slug-fest, Captain America: Civil War. It truly seemed as though nothing could go wrong for DC fans.
Upon release, however, Batman v Superman served as a dividing point in the fandom. While Man of Steel had its detractors, the gap in fan reception as well as the rumors of studio interference makes this film the true birth of the SnyderVerse movement, even if Zack Snyder hadn’t released a Justice League movie yet. According to Snyder himself, this split wasn’t because the film lacked quality. It was because fans wanted something more fun:
“I think that probably is what caused the movie to be so polarizing,” Snyder explained during the Q&A at his ‘Full Circle’ event. “I feel like a lot of people went into the movie going, ‘Oh, it’s [a] superhero romp, right? Let’s have fun with it’. We gave them this sort of hardcore deconstructivist, heavily layered, experiential modern mythological superhero movie that you really need to pay attention to. That was not cool [for them]. That’s not something anyone wanted to do. They were like, ‘What? No! That’s exhausting. Why do they fight at night?’ I hate that.”
While it would be an oversimplification to say that every fan entirely understood Batman v Superman before criticizing it, it’s just as simplified to say that anybody who didn’t like it just wanted a fun superhero romp. Some fans simply don’t enjoy Zack Snyder’s interpretation of the characters in his films, often because they understand the ideological groundings beneath them. This idea is further supported by Captain America: Civil War succeeding less than two months later, as it was another film that served as a deconstruction of ideologies, though perhaps not to the same degree as Batman v Superman, while maintaining the spirit of the characters in the eyes of mass audiences.
The SnyderVerse era is over for now
The term “SnyderVerse” refers to the interconnected film universe that Zack Snyder created, which began with Man of Steel and continued with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. Those plans have been scrapped in favor of an interconnected DC Universe consisting of film, television, animation and video game projects, with James Gunn and Peter Safran at the helm.
‘The Flash’ Assembles His Allies In New Promo Banner & TV Spot
Despite its mixed reception, the SnyderVerse has a dedicated fanbase that appreciates Zack Snyder’s DC Universe vision. Fans have praised the SnyderVerse films for their darker tone and mature storytelling. They have also criticized Warner Bros. and DC’s interference with Snyder’s DCU plans, which they believe resulted in the lackluster final product of Justice League.
In 2021, Zack Snyder released his four-hour long Justice League cut on the WarnerMedia streaming service HBO Max. His version of Justice League was well received by fans and critics alike, who praised its improvement over the original version of the movie, which was overseen by Joss Whedon. The release of the Snyder Cut has reignited interest in the SnyderVerse and sparked speculation about its future.
Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the DC Universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
Source: The Direct
