There are few blockbuster filmmakers with as divided an audience as Zack Snyder. From Man of Steel to Batman v. Superman, Snyder’s films have sharply divided audiences and critics. In a recent interview, Snyder weighed in on the divisive nature of his work and admitted he does not pay any heed to criticisms because, in his mind, none of the criticisms are valid.
“I honestly, I don’t look at it that much. I mean, look, I’ve looked at the, and sort of analyzed the — as sort of anyone would do — the sort of negative criticism of the films, in the past. I just don’t… I haven’t found anything within the criticism that would make me believe and/or change anything I do. So in that way, it doesn’t really affect me. If I felt like there was an issue, or some sort of, something lacking within the work and I needed to look at the criticism to then reevaluate the way I approach things, that would be a different scenario. But, I wouldn’t change a frame of anything I’ve done, so… the criticism is just the criticism.”
The nature of the divided reaction to Snyder’s movies has resulted in a rare occurrence in Hollywood, where Snyder was first removed from the directorial position for 2017’s Justice League mid-way through filming, and then brought back three years later by Warner Bros. at the behest of fans to finish Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
But even though Warner Bros. appears to be in his corner now, Snyder remains skeptical of their intentions. In a separate interview with VanityFair, the filmmaker revealed that the studio wanted him to release an unfinished cut of the Snyder Cut, which he refused to do for three major reasons.
“I go, ‘Here’s why [I don’t want to release an unfinished version of Justice League]. Three reasons: One, you get the internet off your back, which is probably your main reason for wanting to do this. Two, you get to feel vindicated for making things right, I guess, on some level. And then three, you get a shitty version of the movie that you can point at and go, ‘See? It’s not that good anyway. So maybe I was right.’ I was like, No chance. I would rather just have the Snyder cut be a mythical unicorn for all time.”
Now that the movie is set to release in less than a month, audiences will finally get to see what all the three-year-long fuss was about. Zack Snyder’s Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Ray Porter as Darkseid, Ciar&án Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. The film arrives on HBO Max on March 18.