The DCU is on the way, but the reality of being a DC fan needs to improve, since the SnyderVerse is clearly never going to recede from view any more than the DCU. Warner Bros. has not done what one would call a commendable job in cultivating a passionate fanbase in their handling of DC on film. Or rather, they have, but not in the way that they intended. In point of fact, DC fans have been consistently divided since the polarized response to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016, the infamous reshooting of Justice League, the debut of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and James Gunn’s soft reboot of the upcoming DCU.
The blame for that situation lies squarely at the feet of Warner Bros. numerous past regimes, and one hopes that DC Studios can bridge that divide. With that said, fans of Zack Snyder’s DCEU and those anticipating James Gunn’s DCU both need to hear and understand a few important things going into the DCU.
To Snyder Fans – You’re Right To Feel Cheated (But The Snyderverse Push Needs To Be More Strategic)
Let’s call a spade a spade – Fans of Zack Snyder’s DCEU, along with Snyder’s cast and Snyder himself, have been repeatedly lied to, gaslit, let down, and cheated by the bulk of Warner Bros. management from 2016 on. To say otherwise is to be willfully ignorant of the sequence of events that has led to the beginning of the DCU, from the reshooting of Suicide Squad and Justice League (the latter also under circumstances that could be called seedy, if we’re in the mood to be exceptionally generous), the repeated denials by Warner Bros. and much of the media that the Snyder Cut existed at all, WB’s blatant attempts to undercut the Snyder Cut once it was being released, ignoring the very clear mainstream interest that had arisen in seeing Zack Snyder’s five-part Justice League story completed after the Snyder Cut’s release, and Henry Cavill’s Superman comeback being cancelled before it even had a chance to begin. If the above had been the experience of any other fandom, they would rightly feel embittered and ripped off, and would likely have the media in their corner to a far greater extent than the Snyder fandom ever has. If you’re someone who has ever tweeted, or continues to tweet, some variation of #RestoreTheSnyderVerse, your feelings are one hundred percent justified.
With that being said, the continued push by Zack Snyder’s fandom to see the Snyderverse story through needs to adopt a more considered approach. James Gunn might be starting a new DC cinematic universe, but that doesn’t mean that it shuts the door on Snyder’s ever happening. Furthermore, alienating Gunn himself will do nothing but make the Snyderverse’s revival ever happening an uphill battle at best. While Snyder fans are justified in their anger at Warner Bros. mishandling of a franchise they loved, those most directly responsible for that are no longer at the studio. Like it or not, James Gunn is the only one with the power to ever give the Snyderverse’s intended conclusion the greenlight. Snyder fans collectively need to realize that if they’re serious about achieving that aim.
Furthermore, while the Snyder fandom is among the best in the world at making their goals impossible for the media or any studio to ignore, there needs to be a stronger focus within the fandom on making a business case for what they’re after from the studio. By all accounts, Zack Snyder’s Justice League itself has performed very well since its debut on streaming platforms, so that would be a good place to start in citing data to make a business case that Snyder’s version of the Justice League characters still hold significant market value. There’s also the extent to which merchandise relating the Snyder’s DCEU continues to make bank long after his DCEU films release. One specific example of that is the recent McFarlane Toys line of action figures based on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which reportedly sold out very swiftly upon their launch ahead of 2024’s New York Comic Con. Such a merchandising bonanza provides a lot to indicate that Snyder’s version of the Justice League remains popular and very profitable, and could be potentially extrapolated to greater streams of revenue if WB and DC elect to take the plunge.
There are numerous other business angles and arguments Snyder fans could make, but these provide a good baseline to work from. And naturally, there’s the much more complex matter of getting Snyder and the Justice League band back together to make it happen at all. While most have other projects lined up, where there’s a will there’s way, and after the superhero movie comebacks seen in The Flash, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Deadpool & Wolverine, Snyder fans are far from delusional in thinking the possibility to do the same with Snyder’s Justice League cast is feasible.
Bottom line – Zack Snyder fans have every right to feel like they’ve had the rug pulled from under them on what Snyder’s DCEU was building to, but the fandom needs to think of James Gunn as a friend rather than an enemy, and cite the best Snyderverse business case possible to Gunn and DC Studios, which is a perfectly achievable goal. Snyder fans, you’ve done it before, you can do it again.
RELATED: Why James Gunn’s Superman Needs The Flying Over Earth & Smiling Finale
To Gunn Fans – You’re Getting James Gunn’s DCU (But The Snyderverse Isn’t A Threat To It)
Gunn fans, looking back, your guy has had a wild ride over the last few years, getting fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 over what might be called Gunn’s colorful sense of humor, nabbing new opportunities with DC, being re-hired to makes Guardians 3 by Marvel Studios, and rising to become DC Studios head honcho with a Superman movie also added to his filmography. As many Gunn fans like to put it, he made you care about a talking tree and a talking raccoon, only to be cast aside by Disney after a coordinated attack on Twitter. You felt the man had been treated like the scum of the Earth over some really bad jokes, and you faced the very real possibility of never seeing what he planned with the Guardians franchise finished and the career of one of your favorite storytellers potentially being over. But, thanks to a determined push by James Gunn’s fandom, the man was eventually brought back into the Marvel fold and got to finish what he started with Marvel before starting something new with DC. All’s well that ends well.
So, it’s worth asking Gunn devotees adamant that Snyder fans “move on” from their desire to see Snyder’s Justice League story through – would you? Or, more accurately, did you?
Some might cite the toxic fandom argument of Snyder fans being too overzealous to be indulged, but let’s take a look back at life as a fans of Snyder’s DCEU back in 2016 and 2017. There were many, many people (including more than a few in entertainment journalism) who didn’t simply not like Batman v Superman, but described it in terms that verged into outright heresy (speaking personally, I still vividly recall not being able to speak positively of Batman v Superman on my own social media pages without being rebuffed with a wave of “No, actually it’s the worst movie ever made, dummy!” rejoinders.) Some fans launched petitions to have Snyder fired from Justice League, otherspopped champagne at the news of Snyder stepping down from Justice League evenwith the context of it happening as the result of a family tragedy. Others still (including many in the media) jeered at Snyder fans day-in, day-out during the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign, and clearly took it personally when the Snyder Cut actually got the greenlight.
Honest question – is it possible that a decade plus of the above treatment might – just MIGHT – have engendered some justified feelings of resentment and anger in those experiencing it? And that some portion of them might fly off the handle a bit as a result of it?
There’s also what seems to be a fear within Gunn fans and those anticipating the upcoming DCU that any gains by Snyderverse fans is a loss for them, even something as comparatively easy as the release of the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad. But Gunn himself has already established an apparatus at DC Studios that could enable something like that to happen with his commitment to also producing DC Elseworlds projects outside of the mainline DCU. That’s the space that Matt Reeves’ The Batman franchise will call home. If Gunn ends up being so inclined to actually finish off Snyder’s Justice League story, he’s already got a spot carved out for it at DC Studios that wouldn’t step on the toes of his own DCU work. That’s the advantage of a superhero IP as steeped in the multiverse as DC is – there’s always something for everybody.
With the DCU’s beginning on the way in 2025, Zack Snyder fans and James Gunn fans alike should try to enter the new year looking at the heroes of DC we all cherish so much with an open mind and an open heart.
For Snyder fans, your anger about the situation is wholly justified, but keep it in check, don’t confuse James Gunn with the past executives who tarnished a growing movie series you loved, and make a business case rooted in data and analytics to #RestoreTheSnyderVerse that DC Studios can’t refuse.
For James Gunn fans, the filmmaker you admire was tarred and feathered, got to finish one superhero series you loved, and is heading into another with the support you provided being a big part of why. However unlikely you might think the chances of it may be, don’t begrudge Snyder fans doing the same to finally get to see the rest of what he started with the DCEU – especially since interest in the seeing the Snyderverse through, as should be clear at this point, is never going to die.
RELATED: Yes, You Can Love Both James Gunn’s Superman and Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel
Do you believe the SnyderVerse and James Gunn’s DCU can coexist peacefully in the multiverse, or is the divide among fans too deep to bridge?
