Most conversations about Zack Snyder are highly debatable as fans either love his work, or hate it. He broke through with the movie 300, which was one of the most stylized movies in the first decade of the 2000s. His heavy use of slo-mo and his favor of style over substance can be seen throughout every single movie he has made.
Brought on by Warner Bros. to usher in a new take on Superman. This led to the creation of a connected cinematic universe of DC superheroes starting with MAN OF STEEL. Snyder has also directed BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE as well as this fall's JUSTICE LEAGUE before tragedy struck his family and he lost his daughter. Snyder stepped back from the director's chair, as well as his wife Deborah stepping back from her producer role, and they handpicked Joss Whedon to take the helm.
It is an unfortunate turn of events for Snyder as his vision and tone for the DCEU had lots of potential going into it, but both MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN V. SUPERMAN were critically panned even though each made lots of box office cash. Now that JUSTICE LEAGUE is in the hands of Whedon, there was recently a report stating the studio is dumping somewhere in the range of $25 million more into its budget for extensive reshoots. Also, it has been previously reported how Whedon has written new scenes to create more "connective tissue" between his work and what Snyder previously shot.
Now, via Mashable, it seems like Snyder is more or less on the way out of being the leading voice and creative vision of the DCEU. Although, he may still have executive producing credits, by name only, for helping to build the DECU to this point. This would be similar to how director Jon Favreau gets a similar credit on Marvel Studios films he hasn't really had a hand in doing anything on; it's an honorary credit. Snyder could be called upon for advice and perhaps some insight from time-to-time, but that sounds like some politically correct talk from studio executives. Mashable writes:
"Zack Snyder, primary engineer of the DC Comics movie universe since Man of Steel, whose creative vision has been polarizing to say the least, will take a significantly smaller role with the franchise going forward, as will his wife, producer Deborah Snyder, Mashable has learned.
"Multiple sources with knowledge of Warner Bros.' plans say that as the DC Extended Universe moves forward, the Snyders will no longer have anything like the level of creative influence that got the franchise to this point.
"For its part, Warners strongly denied the notion that the Snyders would no longer be actively involved in creative decision-making."
If you're a fan of Snyder's work, then this is a sad moment for you. If you're not a fan of his work, then you're probably smiling pretty big right now. Snyder is as polarizing of a director in the movie business and in the DCEU as Michael Bay is to the TRANSFORMERS movie franchise right now.
To read the full report on Mashable, click right here.
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