Justice League's Zack Snyder Explains His Superhero Fatigue - And It Makes Sense

For years, people have long discussed the idea of "superhero fatigue," or general audiences finally getting fed up with cinematic comic book universes where it feels like one needs to do homework to understand what's happening. In 2023, that idea appeared to come to fruition with the poor box office performances from the likes of "The Flash," "The Marvels," and the disastrous "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," which is closing out the DC Extended Universe. Now it turns out that Zack Snyder, whose "Man of Steel" kickstarted that universe, feels the same way as many others.

Speaking with The Atlantic, Snyder — who also directed "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "Justice League" for the DCEU — didn't shy away from calling out the genre. "I have the same fatigue," he admitted, even going so far as to say these movies are "a cul-de-sac now ... No one thinks they're going to a one-off superhero movie." He may have a point, as everything seemingly has to lead to something bigger.

Snyder wanted to make a "Justice League" trilogy that would have killed the DC universe for good. But that didn't happen, so the DCEU ends with a whimper rather than a bang, with a lackluster showing from "Aquaman 2." If creatives aren't careful, the entire genre could fall away entirely.

Elsewhere in The Atlantic interview, Zack Snyder mentioned what he thinks audiences are looking for, saying, "The holy grail is some original IP that you create, that has resonance and is cool." It makes sense that this is his viewpoint given his latest venture, "Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire." Many reviews, including the one from Looper's own Alistair Ryder, point out the obvious influences "Star Wars" had on "Rebel Moon," but it is an original story all the same. And it's one Snyder and Netflix have gone all in on, with the second installment subtitled "The Scargiver" coming out on April 19, 2024. 

It's the director's second attempt post-DC to launch a new franchise, with "Army of the Dead" back in 2021 meant to kickstart a new series of films. And Snyder insists "Army of the Dead 2" is still on the way. For the time being, it appears Snyder doesn't want to play in other people's sandboxes. He wants to launch the next great franchise, with "Rebel Moon" ripe for additional sequels and spin-offs. 

As for now, Snyder seems done with superhero movies, going so far as to say, "I'm not knocking on James Gunn's door, going, like, 'Bro, shoot me one of those sweet movies.'" It's likely the best sentiment for all involved. If Gunn wants to get people invested in DC movies again, they need to move beyond what was done in the past. As for Snyder, he seems to be one of the few filmmakers today who can launch a non-IP movie on the scale of "Rebel Moon," and there's definitely value in having him pursue original ideas for now.