Filmmaker Zack Snyder is better off making original works for Netflix than he is returning to Warner Bros. to make more Army of the Dead.
First finding fame as the director of the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake, Zack Snyder's name has since then become synonymous with comic book movies. Snyder adapted the classic graphic novels 300 and Watchmen into feature-length films, making a mark on the genre that still starts discussions today. This led to Warner Bros. tapping Snyder to direct Man of Steel; a Superman film it was hoped could form the basis of a new shared reality that might compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Since that time Snyder has grown in popularity, though the shared universe he started has seemingly been abandoned by Warner Bros. in favor of a multiverse-based approach, allowing filmmakers the freedom to develop various DC Comics properties as they see fit without worrying about the films fitting into a single reality. This seems ironic, given Snyder's complaints of studio interference while making his films. In any case, despite the success of Snyder's cut of the Justice League movie, Warner Bros. seems firmly committed to their new direction. Even if they did want Snyder to return, it seems unlikely that he would want to trade the creative liberty offered by his current commitments at Netflix for another chance to butt heads with Warner Bros. over the direction of his proposed five-film cycle.
Zack Snyder Saw Significant Conflict With Warner Bros.
Describing Zack Snyder's relationship with Warner Bros. as troubled would be an understatement. While any director working within the studio system has to expect a certain amount of give and take working with executives, the levels of studio interference Snyder had to deal with went beyond reasonable standards. These problems began even before the now-infamous behind-the-scenes issues during the filming of Justice League after Snyder left the project due to a family tragedy, leading to Avengers director Joss Whedon completing the film using some of Snyder's footage.
Snyder first battled Warner Bros. over his 2011 film Sucker Punch, which the studio pushed him to edit so that it had a happier ending and might be given a PG-13 rating. Snyder obliged the studio with the expectation that he might be able to release his original cut on video. Unfortunately, the studio stepped in again, resulting in the Sucker Punch Extended Cut, which restored most of the footage cut for the theatrical release but retained the studio's preferred ending. The true Snyder Cut of Sucker Punch, with its original ending, has never been released, but the Extended Cut of Sucker Punch is widely agreed to be a vast improvement on the theatrical release.
Snyder faced further studio interference during production on 2016's studio's need to speed-up the development of their shared superhero universe led to the inclusion of multiple teases of the heroes who would eventually unite to form the Justice League. The end result was that many scenes defining the feud between Superman and Batman were cut, while scenes that existed purely to hint at the larger universe that would be coming in later films were left intact. This time, however, Snyder was allowed to release a Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition that was in line with his original vision. It too was better received than the theatrical release. Then of course, there's the infamous Justice League.
Warner Bros. Doesn't Want More Justice League From Zack Snyder
Given this history, it is easy to see why Zack Snyder might be reluctant to work with Warner Bros. in the future. Yet despite it all, Snyder had hopes of returning to complete his five-film plan for the DC Extended Universe given the positive reception of Zack Snyder's Justice League after its release on HBO Max. Unfortunately for Snyder and his fans, it seems that Warner Bros. has other plans.
Warner Bros. has seemingly abandoned the idea of a single shared universe and is now moving forward with a cinematic multiverse made up of different realities. This includes James Gunn's The Suicide Squad (which may or may not be a reboot of the 2016 Suicide Squad movie) and the The Batman movie starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne. Despite this approach allowing multiple filmmakers the freedom to approach the DC Comics setting however they wish, there are currently no plans for a Justice League 2 to continue the story of Zack Snyder's Justice League. Indeed, in a recent interview with, Snyder described the general attitude at Warner Bros. as "aggressively anti-Snyder," despite the best efforts of the RestoreTheSnyderverse movement to show popular for Snyder's work.
Zack Snyder Already Has Multiple Franchises At Netflix
Even if Zack Snyder got his wish for cooler heads to prevail at Warner Bros. he would not be able to work on a follow-up to Justice League anytime in the near future. Snyder's latest film, Army of the Dead, is scheduled for release on May 21, 2021 and is already shaping up to be a big hit for Netflix. Certainly, Netflix has clear confidence in the film, having arranged for a 600 screen theatrical release one week before the movie is officially released online. Netflix also seems to be prepared for Army of the Dead to become a film franchise, having already produced a prequel film, Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, which Zack Snyder is producing and will also direct at least one episode.
Ignoring the various Army of the Dead projects, Zack Snyder is also at work on a mystery project for Netflix and producing an anime series based on Norse mythology. That is a pretty full plate, even without the possibility of any Justice League sequels in the future. Given that, and the clear level of confidence Netflix has in him as a creator that Warner Bros. does not, it seems clear that Zack Snyder would be better off sticking with Netflix for the foreseeable future where he'll be free to focus on his own original works without constant studio intervention.
