Zack Snyder's first DC movie was 2013's Man of Steel. Released in the wake of The Dark Knight Rises, the hope was that Snyder would do for Superman what Christopher Nolan, who was credited as an executive producer, had done for Batman.
Man of Steel scored decent reviews and ticket sales, but proved surprisingly divisive. That was down solely to many of Snyder's creative decisions, including Clark Kent standing by and doing nothing as his father died, the destruction of Metropolis, and Superman's decision to stop General Zod by snapping his neck.
Three years later, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice followed, and as the title suggests, Warner Bros. was eager to catch up with Marvel Studios by hard-launching the Justice League. The movie went way over budget (hurting its profitability), and reviews were mostly negative.
As for 2017's Justice League, you surely know by now what a mess that ended up being. Joss Whedon was enlisted to write and direct reshoots, delivering a Frankenstein's Monster of a movie that led to the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign. It took four years, but that's exactly what happened when Zack Snyder's Justice League premiered on HBO Max in 2021.
That was it for Snyder's stint in the DCEU, and James Gunn and Peter Safran have since rebooted the franchise. Some still want Snyder's vision to be restored, hence #RestoreTheSnyderVerse. Whether it will happen with Netflix set to acquire Warner Bros. remains to be seen. We wouldn't bank on it.
Snyder remains a divisive figure and has recently made headlines for sharing photos from his DC movies. The latest puts the spotlight on Henry Cavill's Superman and was accompanied by the following message:
"Today marks a little milestone on this wild Instagram journey—500k followers in just over two months! I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who’s joined along the way. For me, these characters are a kind of modern mythology, and I put a ton of reverence and respect into bringing them to life. Seeing that resonate with so many of you means the world. Here’s to many more stories together!"
There will be those who agree with the filmmaker's comments, while others are bound to scoff at the notion that Snyder treated their favourite characters with the "reverence and respect" he refers to here! Whatever side of the fence you're on, this is an undeniably cool shot of Supes...