Zack Snyder is a famously divisive filmmaker, but there is more complexity in the polarizing nature of his filmography, writing, and storytelling than many realize. Zack Snyder made his feature directorial debut with 2004’s remake of Dawn of the Dead, while 2006’s 300 fully cemented him as a heavy metal auteur seldom seen before in Hollywood blockbusters.
The often divisive reception to Snyder’s body of work didn’t fully begin to take hold into he dove into the superhero genre, first with 2009’s Watchmen and even more so with his DCEU films Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. With the equally polarizing release of Snyder’s sci-fi space opera epic Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire, the debate over Snyder as a storyteller has erupted once again among both his highly passionate fanbase and equally impassioned detractors.
Snyder’s critics often argue that he is a filmmaker who excels at visual splendour but comes up short on storytelling and character development. However, no one can doubt the pedigree of screenwriters Snyder has worked with has been top-notch. David S. Goyer and Chris Terrio respectively lent their pens to at least two of Snyder’s DCEU movies each, with both holding screenwriting credits on Batman v Superman. Snyder’s more recent films have also brought aboard equally talented writers, with Shay Hatten (co-scribe of the third and fourth John Wick movies) co-writing Zack Snyder’s Netflix films Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon movies.
Even from the beginning of his career, Snyder was collaborating with revered screenwriters, with future Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn penning Dawn of the Dead and Kurt Johnstad also co-writing Zack Snyder’s films 300 and the upcoming Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver. Given the overall acclaim of the screenwriters Snyder has collaborated with, it hardly seems like a fair or realistic verdict to say that their talent simply vanishes whenever they’re working on Snyder movies to account for their polarizing reception.
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Given that Snyder himself often has a story or co-screenwriting credit on most of his movies, some might be tempted to suggest that Snyder is his own worst enemy at a writing level. However, putting aside how simplistic such a perspective reduces arts like storytelling and screenwriting, it also sells Snyder himself short.
Snyder holds story credits on both Wonder Woman and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, two of the best-received movies in the DCEU. Not to take anything away from either film’s respective screenwriters, Allan Heinberg and Chris Terrio, or Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, but Snyder clearly was an integral player in the development of both film’s stories. However, there might be another element that highlights the black-and-white reception Snyder’s movies are subject to – namely, how many Snyder movies have extended or director’s cut.
Even before the Snyder Cut made history in 2021, Snyder’s movies often had subsequent extended cuts released on home media, specifically Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen, and Batman v Superman – all of which are widely seen as the superior versions of each film. Zack Snyder’s Justice League, of course, pulled off a complete 180 from the reception of its theatrical counterpart, while both Rebel Moon films will be releasing extended cuts at some point in 2024.
While director’s cuts are often a fun way for viewers to see a director’s vision in its most uncompromised form (and, in the case of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, is tantamount to being a completely different movie), there might be a case to be made that Zack Snyder movies so frequently having their reception boosted by better-received director’s cuts might have robbed much of his filmography of a better first impression.
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Perhaps the best way for Snyder’s detractors and fans alike to meet in the middle of his body of work might lie in simply letting Snyder release his intended version of the movie from the start, bringing the full scope of his storytelling and that of the writers he’s working with to light to be seen in the most comprehensive way possible. Post-Rebel Moon, when it comes to Zack Snyder movies, it might finally be time for studios to simply #ReleaseTheSnyderCut right from the start.
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