With Zack Snyder’s Justice League - was released on HBO Max to critical acclaim. While this is assumed to be Snyder’s mic-drop on the whole DCEU, the director has expressed an interest in helming more stand-alone projects for the company in the future.
One such project, The Dark Knight Returns, would be ideal as Snyder’s next DC outing, rather than trying to top his version of Justice League with an ill-conceived sequel. 300 fame) and released as a four-issue miniseries in 1986. Set in a dystopian version of Gotham City, Miller’s opus sees an aging Bruce Wayne don the cape and cowl after ten years of retirement. The Mutants, a gang of young thugs, have taken control of the city, and Batman - thought by many to be a myth - is the only one who can stop them.
Not one to hide his influences, Snyder has made his love for The Dark Knight Returns known on numerous occasions - even including elements of the storyline in The Dark Knight Returns fits that bill perfectly and would be a worthy, stand-alone successor to his DCEU work.
The phrase “stand-alone” could be key to DC’s future output. The DCEU now has a lot of baggage, featuring multiple ill-received movies and casting changes that amount to a wholly incohesive shared universe. 2019’s oft-contradicted DCEU.
All this said, with Snyder’s recent zombie hit The Dark Knight Returns, as the title implies, would be an excellent return for the seasoned director, fulfilling a long-held desire to see the DC miniseries adapted for the big screen.
