Zack Snyder, who has directed his fair share of superhero movies, has offered his opinion on what the genre needs to do to make a comeback at the box office.
Speaking with CulturaOcio.com, Snyder shared why he believed superhero movies were struggling at the box office. “Well, I mean, we’ve been watching superhero movies every weekend for 15 years or something like that. So it’s not outrageous that the graph is going to fluctuate,” he explained.
As for what studios can do to reverse this bad box office streak, Snyder said, “I don’t think by any means that the superhero movie is completely done. I do feel that there is an onus on the filmmakers and on the people who are the guardians of this IP to be sure that they are bringing audiences the highest quality material they can because audiences are very sophisticated. They know the stories now. Now you need to surprise them again.”
Zack Snyder helped launch the DC Extended Universe
Snyder helmed the 2013 superhero movie, Man of Steel, a reboot of the Superman franchise and the first entry in the DC Extended Universe. He returned to direct the 2016 sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which introduced Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman to the shared universe.
Although as director of 2017’s Justice League, Snyder stepped away from the project during its production and was replaced by Joss Whedon, who reportedly reshot most of the movie. Snyder’s cut of Justice League was eventually released in 2021 following a successful fan campaign titled #ReleaseTheSnyderCut.
Snyder also directed the comic book adaptations Watchmen (2009), based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ acclaimed limited series, and 300 (2006), based on Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s fictional retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae.
Could Zack Synder return to DC?
While Snyder is currently busy launching his Rebel Moon shared universe on Netflix, the director has indicated that he would consider returning to DC for an adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, but only if it was “a true representation of the graphic novel.”
Watchmen, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League are available to stream on Max.
