Zack Snyder has marked a decade since the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, offering a candid defence of his polarizing DC film and sharing insights on the intense reactions it sparked.

Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Snyder looked back at the 2016 release, which opened to mixed and largely negative reviews but went on to gross $874 million worldwide.

“My 100% honest reaction to BvS… Do you really want a movie where all the edges are shaved off by focus groups?” Snyder said. He emphasized that his vision resisted boardroom-driven decisions, preferring a bold take on iconic superheroes rather than a “Kmart version” of their stories.

Challenges of deconstructing heroes

Snyder acknowledged the backlash over his portrayal of Batman and Superman.

“You realize we were kicking the zeitgeist in the nuts and that we were going to anger people,” he said. “Not only do they not want their heroes deconstructed, they don’t want them battling each other on a road to deconstructing why they exist. That’s another sacrilege.”

The director’s approach pushed boundaries, challenging audience expectations of superhero narratives and storytelling conventions within blockbuster cinema.

SnyderVerse and fan movement

Batman v Superman served as the foundation of the SnyderVerse, following Man of Steel and leading into Justice League. After Snyder departed due to a family tragedy, Joss Whedon completed the theatrical cut, leading to widespread fan dissatisfaction.

The resulting campaign for the release of Snyder’s original vision became one of the most vocal fan movements in modern cinema history, culminating in Zack Snyder’s Justice League debuting on HBO Max in 2021.

Snyder praised the fans for their efforts, particularly their contributions to charity:

“The fans should never forget they did that. They also raised a ton of money for suicide prevention… You can go f--k yourselves if that’s what you think,” he said, pushing back on critics labeling the fanbase as toxic.

Though the planned trilogy of Justice League films never fully materialized, Snyder remains open to revisiting the stories in other formats, including animation or comics.

“We live in a world where all that is possible,” he said. “I’ve absolutely talked about bringing those unmade films to life.”