Zack Snyder addresses “toxic” fans and if he’ll return to cinemas

Zack Snyder is one of the most divisive mainstream directors perhaps in all of cinema. In a new interview, he’s discussed the “toxic” subset of his fans, as well as the chances of him doing another big-screen movie.

While Snyder sparked polarizing opinions with his adaptation of Watchmen, his DCEU tenure was a different animal altogether. It started with Man of Steel, his grittier, darker vision of Superman, which teed up his most controversial movie: Batman v Superman.

It didn’t fare well with critics, nor did it meet expectations at the box office, but he was brought back to direct Justice League. The 2017 theatrical release was a disaster, but Snyder’s name was little more than a credit – it was helmed by Joss Whedon, who vastly overhauled the director’s original work when he stepped in after a family tragedy. Thankfully, completed his DC journey with the Snyder Cut in 2021.

Since then, he’s directed Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon, both of which are Netflix projects. Will he ever release a movie in cinemas again with another studio? Maybe.

Zack Snyder discusses his “toxic” fans and returning to cinemas one day

The campaign to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut was arduous, heated, and by the end, tiresome. Fans went to extraordinary lengths to see the director’s cut realized, whether it was flying banners over Comic-Con or flooding social media – tweets, YouTube videos, Instagram posts… everything, basically – with demands.

The foundations were noble: people wanted to see the conclusion of the saga they were promised from a filmmaker they loved, and they raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity. However, amid the tsunami of impassioned fans seeking the movie they “deserve”, bad apples quickly emerged. It’s like Alfred said: “That’s how it starts: the fever, the rage, the feeling of powerlessness.”

Speaking to Wired, Snyder said: “Look, there’s tons of toxic fans, and I don’t condone that behavior. But for every toxic fan, there were legitimate and ridiculous and really, incredibly dark attacks on me, my family. I’m not justifying any bad behavior, but also, I’m in this conversation with this fandom, where I have tried to make the work as best I can.”

He was also asked if he’s still interested in theatrical releases, given his post-DC collaborations with Netflix that have pretty much given him carte blanche on his films and burgeoning franchises.

“I am. I don’t know that having a movie in the theaters necessarily serves a streaming release. I think the verdict is out on that,” he said. (For context, Rebel Moon Part 1 will have a limited run in theaters before it drops on Netflix.)

“I don’t think it does. But I do think, obviously, if you make a movie for the theaters, that’s an incredible experience. I saw Barbie in the theater. I saw Oppenheimer. Those were great. I want to do that. I like that,” Snyder added.

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire hits Netflix on December 22, 2023. Find out more here.