Fans of superhero cinema can sometimes have quite strong feelings about Zack Snyder’s DC movies. While some argue that the tone he chose for projects like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was too dark, brooding, or humorless for their DC comic book characters, others have often raced enthusiastically to his defense, noting his unique visual style and focus on building mythology over delivering crowd-pleasing moments.
Years after Snyder’s relationship with Warner Bros. grew strained and he left the cinematic universe behind, James Gunn and Peter Safran became co-CEOs of DC Studios and took over its creative direction. Snyder has supported longtime friend and collaborator Gunn in his endeavors, but remains thoughtful about his time working with the studio in the past.
During the making of his new indie film, The Last Photograph, Snyder spoke with THR about the changes in responsibility and working methods between his current experience and his days directing big-budget fare, telling the outlet that the stakes are lower and that “You’re not trying to sell the audience something. You’re just giving them an experience and that experience doesn’t necessarily have to end with a sequel. I’m not trying to get them to go to another movie or buy a toy. The why of the movie is completely different.”
The director also reflected on the differences between his own DC movies and Marvel’s output, suggesting that his vision may have been a mistake and less fun. “[Marvel is] like an amusement park ride, right? The ups, the drops, the kind of cruising part, and then another drop. At the end, you’re like, ‘Wow, that was crazy, that was awesome.’ I had no interest in that. And you know, maybe that was a mistake. But I don’t think that way. I can’t do that. I’d rather just kind of talk about the mythology of them. And maybe that’s not as fun.”
