Director Zack Snyder had another live Q&A with fans where he got to explain how his vision for the Justice League movie was marred by studio interference because of the less-than-stellar reaction to Batman v Superman, which Snyder calls a “vocal minority,” according to ComicBook.com.
Snyder says, “The original Justice League that Chris [Terrio] and I wrote, we didn’t even shoot … The actual idea, the hard, hard idea, the scary idea, we never filmed because the studio was like ‘That’s crazy.'” He also gave some more nuggets about the fate of certain characters and the explanation for that “Knightmare” scene in BvS:
“It’s a long story […] The truth is that the Knightmare sequence in this movie was always my idea that all of that would eventually be explained … and that we would end up in the distant future, where Darkseid has taken over Earth and where Superman has succumbed to the Anti-Life [Equation] … There was a few members of the Justice League that had survived in that world, that they were fighting. Batman broke a pact with Cyborg because something happened … They were working on an equation to jump Flash back to tell Bruce …”
This is a scene that was in the extended cut of Batman v Superman and was supposed to link the two stories together. In the below scene, the Flash appears to Bruce, saying, “Lois. Lois Lane is the key.” This is referring to the idea that Lois Lane’s death would cause Superman to succumb to the Anti-Life Equation and become evil.
Continuing, Snyder explained, “If Superman knew that somehow it was Bruce’s responsibility to protect Lois, he would have been mad at him in [Batman v Superman]. So that’s why he says, ‘She was my world, and you took her from me.'”
Everything about this upsets me, other than Darkseid, because that’s bae.
My feelings about the “Snyder cut” of Justice League, and the Snyder-verse in general, waffle the older and wiser I get, because on the one hand, despite my mixed feelings about Snyder’s work, on the whole, he does have a specific vision and style. Snyder is a “visionary” of sorts, and when you step in to see one of his films, there’s an experience you expect.
I have no problem giving him credit when I do like his stuff; I’ve already written about my Sucker Punch feels before, and I do understand wanting to give someone the opportunity to finish their story on their own terms. Yet, the problem I have with the Snyder cut is the idea that the reason he was unable to see his vision through in this case was because of some deeply hidden agenda, and not the mixture of poor critical reception and his own personal tragedy.
Batman v Superman, even if you personally like it, did not do as well as expected, and the public reaction to it was scathing. I haven’t watched it since it came out (maybe I’ll change that), but I remember my reaction to it was not great, yet my boyfriend at the time loved it. Hell, I’ll even admit that, of all the movies she has been in, I found Wonder Woman the coolest in her scenes in BvS.
Yes, even the No Man’s Land scene. *Dodges tomatoes.*
In reading these ideas, it reminds me of why I have such heavy issues with Snyder helming this universe. I genuinely dislike the way he writes Superman. I hate most storylines where Superman turns into a despot because Lois Lane is murdered by someone because (1) stop fridging Lois fucking Lane, and (2) Superman is not the Punisher.
Superman literally lost his entire biological family (sans Kara) when he was days old; he is not new to trauma and death. Plus, goddess forbid Lois did die, and Superman did go “dark,” he has a whole team of people who would be there for support. The idea that dead Lois = evil Clark is just something I do not care for.
That being said, I know people find this “gritty” world interesting, but personally, I think it’s Snyder just going full Ayn Rand with a figure who stands for the opposite of Randian politics. Rand supported rational and ethical egoism and rejected altruism; Superman is altruism made sentient.
You want to do that kind of storytelling? The works of Steve Ditko, who was also a Rand-style Objectivist, are a part of the DC universe. Use those.
But again, that’s just me. What do you think of Snyder’s plan? Would it have a been a better film?
(via ComicBook.com, image: Dc/Warner Bros.)
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Published: Mar 25, 2019 12:40 pm