Why do you think the DCEU ultimately failed? One reason for this is that the biggest players involved had dramatically different creative visions for this cinematic universe. Zack Snyder, of course, wanted everything to be dark, serious, and mythic. By comparison, Warner Bros. wanted something light, quirky, and comedic in order to compete with the . You can see this split by looking at the two different versions of Justice League. Joss Whedon, who took over from Snyderverse, did extensive rewrites and reshoots to create DC’s quippy alternative to . Later, Snyder came back to edit the more like Snydercut, which became the version even his biggest haters preferred to watch.
Unfortunately, Snyder’s streaming-only cut of Justice League wasn’t enough to stop the DCEU from toppling under its own weight. Nonetheless, even as ushers in a brand-new cinematic universe with the DCU, there are fans still hoping that Snyder will return and give us more of his unique vision. Now, half a decade after Snyder’s messy break with Warner Bros., he returned to the studio lot. Was he negotiating to bring back the Snyderverse? As it turns out, he was just there to host a screening of John Boorman’s 1981 film Excalibur.
DC’s Most Controversial Director
Why was there beef between and Warner Bros. in the first place? Mostly, it comes down to the creative differences mentioned above. They also disagreed over the finer details of things like movie runtimes. Perhaps most egregiously, the studio reportedly pushed for major changes, including putting Batman in the second Superman movie (Snyder wanted a solo sequel where the fought Metallo). While WB gave the director the resources to create a proper Snyder Cut, they weren’t on great terms with the director. In fact, Page Six reports they mostly split ways in 2021, with Snyder receiving a “quiet settlement” from the studio.
Now, though, it seems like the director and the studio have finally buried the hatchet. Recently, Snyder made a surprising return to Warner Bros.’ Burbank lot to host a screening of Excalibur. That may not sound like much, but it’s interesting to note how the controversial filmmaker was received when he arrived. According to Page Six, Snyder received a “hero’s welcome.” Furthermore, the director seemed on very friendly terms with WB bosses Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, with whom he did a Q&A. These same bigwigs began these movie nights in 2022 to celebrate the studio’s history; now, they are used as a way to shore up shrinking morale.
Is The Snyderverse Back?
Why is morale so low? Things started to take a turn once decided to buy Warner Bros. While mergers create opportunities, they also create redundancies that will lead to hundreds of layoffs. Now, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s attempts have further weakened morale because employees don’t know what the future holds. Nowadays, these movie nights, which feature major directors screening others’ films, have become a way for beleaguered executives to forget their merger woes and simply enjoy watching great movies with a like-minded audience. Snyder’s return surprised some of these execs and caused speculation that he may direct more superhero movies for the studio.
So far, however, there have been no negotiations on that front. This is understandable: Warner Bros. doesn’t know if the merger with Paramount will even go through. For that matter, they don’t even know if Paramount will still be in California two months from now. That makes this the worst time to negotiate a new tights-and-flights movie with their most controversial director. Nonetheless, the failure of has caused widespread fan fear that the DCU could collapse. To keep that from happening, it’s entirely possible WB will decide that the only man who can make their newest cinematic universe a success is the man who helped run their last cinematic universe into the ground.