A photograph of James Gunn, director of Superman, and Zack Snyder, director of Man of Steel, taken together? Is this real?
Not everyone is persuaded. Some think it is damage control that is being enacted before the release of Gunn’s Superman. Others, however, see this as a potential sign that the Snyderverse might somehow be salvaged. Then there are fans who just see this as two old film buddies reuniting after being apart for some time. But whatever this is, it is definitely firing up the internet.
The selfie with Zack Snyder that James Gunn posted on Threads has this caption: “Always a pleasure catching up with my friend Zack Snyder, consummate filmmaker (and a doubly consummate storyteller!).”
At face value, it’s a congenial post, and yet, some of the singer’s followers have taken it upon themselves to scrutinize the seemingly harmless selfie and come up with elaborate theories about what it might mean.
One admirer remarked, “This carries significance. You don’t simply upload a picture with Snyder and think we’re just going to get past it.” Jovanni ShedBoyz G Lopez was more uncertain, saying, “This is their way of trying to get back on our side. They know we control the box office.”
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As always, reactions were sharply divided. Some fans raised a toast to the crossover of two of DC’s most illustrious filmmakers, while others were left wondering what was up. “If this isn’t a tease for something, I’m suing for emotional damage,” one user good-naturedly quipped.
For quite a while, Zack Snyder’s split with the DCEU has been one of the most intensely argued-about subjects in superhero cinema. Snyder’s devoted fan base somehow kept the fire hot enough under Warner Bros. that the studio went ahead and released a version of Snyder’s Justice League that was markedly superior to the theatrical cut.
At present, the freshly rebooted DCU is under the guidance of Gunn and Peter Safran. This has produced wild speculation among fans as to whether Snyder might make a return to any DC projects, or if he’s locked in some other capacity. Could he, for instance, direct a project under the auspices of Gunn and Safran? Might he—the fan guesses run the gamut—helm a movie called The Authority, which seems particularly well-suited to his signature style? Or might this just be two nice guys, nice to each other?
Snyder and Gunn might seem to be an odd couple. Yet, they have a history that stretches back nearly two decades. In 2004, well before either was a powerhouse in the comic book movie realm, they worked together as a filmmaker-writer team on Dawn of the Dead—if you ask James Gunn, he’ll tell you they worked together on Dawn of the Dead. He wrote a relatively early version of the screenplay that was actually very close to the final product. Zack Snyder, being the great director that he is, took it to a whole new level.
Regardless of the divergence in their directorial styles, there is enough mutual respect between the two that Gunn’s asking Snyder for advice on the Superman costume design isn’t at all surprising. “We really went back and forth a lot about the red trunks. I even talked to Zack Snyder about it. He said, ‘I tried like a billion versions with the trunks and just never got there.’ And I said, ‘I see how that’s the case,’” Gunn told Screen Brief. Snyder at least seems to be involved enough to know how Gunn and writer/co-executive producer Peter Safran are reinterpreting the character for the new DCU.
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Currently, no formal collaboration has been indicated by either Snyder or Gunn, but the online discourse allows fans to dream. And they do. The reactions run the whole spectrum, from those who have a strong emotional investment in the very idea of a DCU to think it might now just be a tad overreaching not to consider also the idea of a “Gunniverse.”
“What is called damage control,” wrote Claudio Aguilera on Facebook. “Gunn begging Snyder to support him,” Zunaira Kiyani added. “Hopefully handing the reins back to Zack,” joked Martyn Morrisson.
James Gunn’s post about Zack Snyder deeply offends some people. “If he was truly [Gunn’s] friend…. He wouldn’t dismantle and ruin his ‘friend’s’ legacy. With friends like this, who needs enemies?” asks Sylvain Kirk.
Currently, it’s all guesswork. But if there’s one thing history has shown, it’s that when it comes to Zack Snyder and DC, fan demand has a way of performing miracles. Whether this is the prologue to something momentous or just a friendly photo op, what’s for sure is that the DC fandom is going to be watching every move.
One of our writers, Brad Curran, has a very interesting theory on how James Gunn plans to include Zack Snyder’s DCEU in the DCU.
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Tell us, do you think Zack Snyder should work on a project for James Gunn’s DCU?
