The Snyderverse looks all but dead, and the prospect of Netflix swinging in to save the day is, sadly, remote. Following a feverish fan campaign to complete and release Zack Snyder's original cut of Justice League, Warner Bros. finally submitted to pressure and dropped Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max. Inevitably, the supersized cut failed to complete Snyder's DCEU storyline, with Darkseid's invasion of Earth and the Knightmare arc only just beginning. Just as inevitably, this led to another fan campaign requesting completion of Zack Snyder's vision through additional movies. Neither Warner. Bros, nor the post-merger Warner. Bros Discovery, has shown any willingness to comply.
With James Gunn and Peter Safran now spearheading a whole new DCU movie franchise and moving away from the previous continuity Snyder helped develop, any lingering hopes for a Snyderverse continuation are deader than Dick Grayson. Discourse naturally turns toward whether a third party could step in, with Netflix the most likely contender due to its existing deal with Zack Snyder. Unfortunately, a mountain of obstacles means that Netflix has as much hope of restoring the Snyderverse as Knightmare-timeline Superman has of saving Lois Lane.
A Netflix & WB Snyderverse Deal Is Difficult To Make Happen
The Spider-Man situation proves that rival studios can come together to solve their superhero differences, but Netflix striking a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to restore the DC Snyderverse is infinitely more complicated. Spidey's predicament called for a relatively straightforward arrangement - Marvel had a successful franchise but no Spider-Man; Sony had a Spider-Man but no franchise. Sony loaning that character and his world to Marvel was mutually beneficial. When talking about Warner Bros. letting Netflix loose on the Snyderverse, however, the remit extends much further. Given the epic scale of Snyder's Knightmare, the loan would effectively include the entire DC landscape - or a version of it, at least.
A second problem arises when considering the vague nature of what "restoring the Snyderverse" would actually mean in practical, legal . In order to complete his original DCEU movie plan, Zack Snyder would need to introduce new plot threads and characters based on DC's comic world, possibly across multiple movies. This would essentially mean Warner Bros. giving Netflix license to craft an entire DC franchise to rival its own. That would be like Kevin Feige letting Jeff Bezos continue Fox's X-Men movie series on Amazon Prime, despite the MCU having its own future plans for Professor X and pals.
The only solution would be for Warner Bros. to slap Netflix with so many restrictions and stipulations that restoring the Snyderverse becomes creatively stifled enough to render the entire endeavor meaningless. The problem, therefore, lies in conflicting interests between Warner Bros. and any potential third party restoring the Snyderverse. Netflix cutting a deal to borrow a single DC character Warner Bros. has no active plans for might be plausible, but handing over the Snyderverse with its gaggle of major Justice League heroes and no fixed end-point makes zero sense from a Warner Bros. perspective, leaving the studio no incentive to even contemplate a deal.
Would Netflix Even Want To Save The Snyderverse?
The prospect of releasing original movies featuring household-name DC characters such as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman would undoubtedly appeal to Netflix, but practical reality raises doubt over whether the streaming platform's benefits would justify the costs. The amount of money necessary for convincing Warner Bros. to cooperate would be extortionate, given that the Snyderverse deal creates direct competition for its own DC movie franchise. Assuming an arrangement could be reached, future Snyderverse Netflix movies would then easily eclipse Netflix's current record budget for an original movie, which belongs to The Gray Man.
With Netflix adding an ment tier to its subscriber model, it becomes difficult to calculate just how popular its Snyderverse restoration would need to be for recouping costs. Suffice to say the bar would be almost impossible to clear. The Snyderverse undoubtedly has a huge groundswell of , but whether that could ever translate into a profitable venture for Netflix is hugely debatable. Many of Snyder's followers would already be tempted to the platform by the director's original movies such as Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon, while casual audiences are unlikely to be moved by what could easily be perceived as a mere Justice League sequel.
Netflix Saving The Snyderverse Would Be Bad For The DCU
Warner. Bros allowing the Snyderverse to play out at a rival reeks of bad business, but the continuation of Zack Snyder's story would also be detrimental to the creative value of the DCU. By installing James Gunn and Peter Safran as co-heads of DC Studios, Warner Bros. is signaling its intention to start completely afresh, with Gunn confirming a slate of 8-10 years has been cooked up. Major changes are being wrought, with Henry Cavill fired as Superman, Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 3 canceled, and Black Adam's franchise over before it even began.
Those efforts to leave the troubled DCEU years behind would be for naught if Netflix swooped in to continue the Snyderverse. Two DC movie franchises running parallel - each with its own Superman, its own Batman, its own Wonder Woman, etc. - could only ever result in each series diluting the other's importance. Because the DCU is considerably less established than its Snyderverse rival, the fledgling franchise would likely come off worse in a head-to-head battle too. No newcomer can truly make a mark while its predecessor refuses to make way, and being forced to compete with the Snyderverse could doom the DCU before it truly gets a chance of success.
