SnyderVerse: How It Could’ve Survived
The year was 2013. The world had just survived a fore-told apocalypse, and Warner Brothers saw it as fitting time as any to launch the DC Extended Universe, or simply, DCEU. The responsibility was given to Zack Snyder and the movie was Man of Steel.
Sure, the movie received kind of mixed treatment from the critics, some argued that Superman shouldn’t be all too gloomy and cheer up a bit. Fans however, loved the film, partly due to Henry Cavill’s brilliant portrayal of the titular character. And then came the second, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. And, we don’t really need to talk about how harsh that movie went with critics and fans alike. There was a lot of problem with that film, and let’s not even get the whole “Martha” thing started. Heh. At this point, the dark and gritty vibes of the DCEU started repelling the audience, the studio saw. However, they let Snyder continue with the third installment of the franchise, Justice League, that was until tragedy struck his family and he had to step down from his role as the director of the film. The studio then invited Joss Whedon to complete what Snyder had begun. They managed to produce a passable film, and the reaction hurt Warner-Brothers so much, that they decided to take a step back, a move that striped off Snyder’s vision of the Universe, steering the franchise to a standstill.
Then Followed The Signs
Over time, Snyder started talking more and more about his plans and vision of the DCEU, as he intended it to be, which folks at ScreenRant have it all sorted out, if you somehow were out of planet and missed it. And, then it started making sense, not that it made the previous two movies “perfect”, no there’s simply no way to explain “Martha” heh, but it made the story a bit more understandable, like why was Clark Kent taking so long to accept his role as Superman, well it was story that was spread across several movies.
And the idea resonated with the fans, so much so they rose up and started the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, as soon as they heard there existed in some box, this film roll with the original version of the Justice League, the one that Snyder directed. And, as fate willed it, the studio saw it as an opportunity to draw attention to their newly launched streaming service, HBOMax. Everything culminating on the day March 18th, 2021. The day the world witnessed Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Snyder’s vision in it’s purest form.
And What Could Had Been
You know, after watching the Snyder’s Justice League, a thought occured to me: this wasn’t much different to Kevin Feige, the man behind the Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. I wondered there could had been a DC Extended Universe as strong as Marvel’s, even better perhaps, if only the studio let Snyder continue with his vision, if only someone intervened and gave him enough creative liberties as did Disney for Feige.
With fans now regrouping for #RestoreTheSnyderVerse, with the positive feelings they had from the success of their previous rally. So much so, these folks are willing to sabotage one franchise for the other. Honestly, there’s little hope that such a fate would repeat itself, considering the present scenario: the new approach to DCEU working well for everyone, Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck presumably out of it and even Zack Snyder’s unwillingness to do any superhero movie anymore.
However I cannot help but wonder, if there could had been a way for Warner-Brothers to make it work without pulling back Snyder’s five movie plan. And, now that I think of it, it wasn’t all too difficult for Warner Brothers to do so. The idea is to let Snyder complete his story and then inject a Flashpoint level event. A flashpoint is basically a phenomenon that occurs when Flash breaks the time barrier, resulting in a shift of events that can be as significant as changing the entire timeline. With Flashpoint, the DCEU can make as many changes to continuity as deemed necessary with one swift stroke, as DC did with their comics lineup to launch their The New 52 Initiative. In the end, let us all be hopeful for a bright future for the DCEU and all the great stories it may bring with it.
“The ‘Amazing’ Can Only Be Created By Facing Fear, Risk, And Failure During The Process.” -Superman.
