Culture news “I want to see what happens” Zack Snyder is ready to break the first rule of Batman at the risk of setting the Internet on fire
Since the release of Batman V Superman in 2016, Zack Snyder has created a real split within DC Comics fans. Eight years later, he returns to one of the most controversial decisions of the film which concerns Batman and which he defends today.
With the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the DCEU came to an end in theaters last year. Among the craftsmen who contributed to this great project, Scott Snyder is surely the best known of all. Beyond kicking off this universe with Man of Steel, he also directed two other major films with Batman v Superman and Justice League. Now that this project has come to its conclusion, the 58-year-old American director returns to certain controversies generated by his productions.
“Batman can’t kill”, really?
In “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Zack Snyder opened up about his relationship with DC Comics fans and all the hatred his films have generated over time. For him, the peak was reached when Batman v Superman was released in 2016 because of a central point: the more violent vision of Batman played by Ben Affleck. For many comic book fans, seeing the Dark Knight kill his enemies on the big screen was sacrilege which goes against the fundamental rule of the superhero, namely that he never kills. But precisely, it is taking the opposite of this central point which interested Zack Snyder. On Joe Rogan’s microphone, he explains:
People always say, “Batman can’t kill.” So Batman can’t kill, that’s canon. And I’m like, “Okay, the first thing I want to do when you say that is see what happens,” and they’re like, “Well, don’t put him in a situation where He has to kill someone.” I tell them, “It’s like you’re protecting your God in a strange way, isn’t it? You’re making your God insignificant.”
An almost religious relationship to comics
For Zack Snyder, it is much more interesting to present a version of Batman in which he has no choice but to kill, as in the comics The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, a cult story of the character which shows a very dark vision of the superhero. What interests the director is to break this divine status of the character to see him in a new light. However, he understands this relationship between almost religious fans and superheroes since he himself identifies with them:
It’s a lifestyle choice for many people. It’s not like I’m making a romantic comedy. People who love (comic book movies)… I love that they feel that passion. I wouldn’t criticize them in any way, because I’m going through the same thing. For them, it’s not just a movie. We must therefore recognize that it is their religion and that it is close to their hearts. It is also my religion.
In any case, we are not sure that we will see Zack Snyder again anytime soon in the production of a DC Comics film since the universe has been entirely taken over in the cinema by James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy, who must to realize Superman Legacy scheduled for summer 2025.