Zack Snyder Making Norse Mythology Anime for Netflix Seems Oddly Fitting
Zack Snyder is making an anime. According to /Film, the Sucker Punch director will team up with his longstanding creative partner Jay Oliva (The Dark Knight Returns) to create an all-new anime series for Netflix that will be set “in the world of Norse mythology.”
“Zack Snyder’s innovation in visual storytelling has pushed the industry forward and established him as one of the most distinctive filmmakers of his generation,” said John Derderian, head of Anime programming for Netflix. “We are beyond excited to partner with him and his exceptional team to bring the iconic characters and stories of Norse mythology to life in his inimitable style.”
Snyder will be the executive producer on the series, and Oliva will serve as showrunner, director, and executive producer. This is the second project that Snyder is creating with the streaming service, as he’s currently working on the zombie thriller feature film Army of the Dead for Netflix, as well.
Honestly, when I heard this news, I thought that this was an interesting shift for the director/creator. A lot of the elements of Snyder’s Sucker Punch had roots in anime, and one of his better works is the animated film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, which was lauded especially for the visuals and his amazing work with CG animation. Even if he isn’t directing, Snyder does have such a really distinct palate. I’m sure that the final project will have his approval and close eye over the storytelling process.
There’s still no more information about the creative direction of the project, but considering the shape-shifting monster, giants, and god stories that take up Norse Mythology, I can see why it would be something that Snyder would be interested in. My hope is that the ladies also get to be nuanced characters.
Snyder’s record on female characters is mixed. I think he can write and put powerful women onscreen. However, I think sometimes his vision can get in his own way. I may not be a Snyder fan to the degree of some online, but I’ve enjoyed enough of his projects to be genuinely curious about what he tackles next, especially when it deals with a subject that is as close to my heart as mythology.
Plus, anything that further delays him from putting a Fountainhead movie into the world is good news for me. I seriously dread that day, because the internet is going to be a terrible, bad, no good place when that happens.
What do you all think? The Snyderverse vision is going to tackle Norse Mythology. Which stories would you like to see and how many slow-motion shots of people getting their heads crushed in by axes do you think we’ll see in the pilot episode?
(via /Film, image: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
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