Zack Snyder won’t ever watch James Gunn’s Superman or other DCU projects — here’s why

Right, so if you were holding out hope that Zack Snyder might quietly pop some popcorn and see what James Gunn is up to over at DC, you can forget it. Snyder himself has confirmed he’s not keeping up with Superman, Supergirl, Lanterns, or any of the rest of Gunn’s set — and he gave the reasons in his own words recently on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz.

Snyder Off the DCU

Horowitz skipped the pleasantries and went straight in about whether Snyder’s bothered with the new era of DC on screen. Snyder was direct but not exactly scathing. He made clear this isn’t about beef with Gunn or some creative rivalry (if anything, he went out of his way to say he trusts Gunn’s eye for things). For him, it’s just too awkward — too close to home, emotionally speaking.

Here’s how Snyder put it on the podcast:

Honestly, it's just that — look, it's a personal thing for me. I want success for them, and I trust James's aesthetic and his take. He has a very particular way of making movies and looking at things. It's just a difficulty. It's wrapped up in other — it's just got a lot of baggage.

That said, he can’t really avoid Gunn’s DCU even if he tried. Memes and online chatter make sure of that. As he put it, his social media feed is wall-to-wall with reactions and sly digs about the new DC — so he’s not completely in the dark, fragments seep through whether he likes it or not.

Still Looming

Now, there’s a bit of intrigue here. See, Gunn’s own contract with DC reportedly runs out in 2027 if he doesn’t re-up, and thanks to all this constant corporate reshuffling (Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merging, etc), there’s a non-zero chance for the mythical SnyderVerse to make a comeback in some shape. The classic Dark Knight Returns adaptation? Still ready and waiting if someone big at the new megacorp wants it.

Snyder also told Horowitz that the director’s cut of Sucker Punch is “definitely on the docket” with Paramount, should the merger go through.

Beyond all the universe-hopping drama, Snyder was happy to dish out a few behind-the-scenes tidbits. He confirmed he’d floated Jeffrey Dean Morgan (yes, Negan himself) as Flashpoint Batman at one stage, and revealed Zoe Saldana was very nearly cast as Lois Lane in Man of Steel. As for future projects, he’s still got his eye on directing episodes of his 300 prequel show, though he’s not giving up any plot just yet.

As things stand, looks like the next DC adaptation Snyder sits through will only be one with his name in the credits.