There were plenty of naysayers about Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Since the campaign started, you’ve had those who claimed the Snyder Cut wouldn’t be that different from the theatrical one, that it was a waste of money, that it’d be a huge flop, and, bizarrely, that it didn’t even exist at all. All these doomsayers were proved categorically wrong in March, though, when the Snyder Cut released to great reviews, a very positive audience reception and healthy viewing figures on HBO Max.
This success – combined with it ending with a lot unresolved plot lines – inevitably lead to calls for Warner Bros. to continue the SnyderVerse. This was always unlikely, but then again, the Snyder Cut ever becoming a reality was once thought to be impossible, so fans held out hope.
But sadly, it seems that the director has moved on to other things. In a recent interview, he was asked about the chances of more from his pocket from the mythology and said that the studio is dead set against it. When questioned about a Justice League sequel, he explained:
“Yes, we have a fully fleshed out universe that we could dive into, but the truth is, you know, Warner Brothers, I don’t think they have really any interest in continuing this storyline. You know, they are the keepers of the IP, and it’s up to them. So, I am super happy with the way the movie turned out and I love these characters and I’m super proud of them.”
Snyder also said that he simply wants to see the Justice League characters doing well in other directors’ films, stating:
“Listen, what I want the characters to do next, I’m really interested in them thriving. I’m interested in an amazing Aquaman movie, and Wonder Woman 3, and The Flash movie, and I think they should make a Cyborg movie as far as I’m concerned. That makes a lot of sense, especially after seeing this movie. Obviously, Cyborg would be the next movie because he’s so awesome.”
My thinking is that Snyder compared his experiences with Warner Bros. and Netflix and concluded that life would be far, far easier at the streaming service. WB executives simply can’t resist interfering in the creative process and it’s clear that there are some massive egos at play that mean working there is extremely difficult. In the past, he’s contrasted this with his experience on Army of the Dead, saying that the project was quickly greenlit and he was given creative freedom to make the movie he wanted.
After all the drama he’s been through, it’s difficult to criticize him for wanting to leave Warner Bros. behind and direct films his way. Still, I’ll always be pining for the post-apocalyptic Justice League sequel set in the Knightmare timeline.