Zack Snyder Knows Why Fans Hate Him - But Is He Right?

Over the years, Zack Snyder has become a fairly divisive filmmaking figure — in the eyes of fans, at least. During an appearance on "Joe Rogan Experience," Snyder himself had a few words about his polarizing reputation, and it might just be enough to keep the debate around the filmmaker ablaze. "I remember the last article said, 'Zack Snyder: Love him or hate him,'" Snyder said. "And I'm like, 'Hate him?!' I don't understand. What? It's a movie ... I have no issue with you not liking the movie. That's not the question. Who cares? The thing is, you'd hate me? I don't understand that."

Though he was understandably confused about the way some people choose to hate Zack Snyder the person for the perceived quality of his work, he also showed understanding and even admiration toward the sheer enthusiasm this indicates. "I love that [fans] feel this passionately," he said. "In no way would I criticize that because I live the same life. For me, it's morning, noon, and night. For those guys, it's not just a movie. So you have to, on some level, you have to acknowledge that this is their religion. And they feel strongly about it. The truth is — it's my religion, too."

Sometimes, people hate the player in place of the game, and Zack Snyder's comments about understanding this enthusiastic viewpoint indicate that he recognizes the situation ... and, being a movie fan at heart himself, he seems to be at peace with it all.

During his tenure leading the DC Extended Universe, Zack Snyder ignored Batman's no-kill rule and changed his Superman (Henry Cavill) in a way that befits his vision. Looper has previously pointed out that every Snyder movie has the exact same problem when it comes to his melodramatic tendencies. Then again, he also has a famously loyal block of fans who were instrumental in making the "Snyder cut" of "Justice League" a reality.

All of this — and the fact that his works are extremely hit-and-miss if you ask the critics — has made Snyder an easy target for film buffs who live and breathe movies. However, he's not exactly the first person sitting on this particular hot seat. Michael Bay has caught a ton of heat over the years. The versatile Joel Schumacher was caught in the absurdity of "Batman & Robin." With Snyder's constant high-profile superhero works and other "swing for the fences" type projects, he's put himself in a prime position to become a target of adoration and ridicule alike — but since he both understands and embraces the potential backlash, he seems pretty well-equipped to deal with the public attention that comes with his endeavors.