Why Zack Snyder's Wrong About Batman
1. The DCEU Is Heading In A Completely Different Direction
If none of what I just said illustrates the fallacy of Snyder's comments, then surely the irony of him telling DC fans to "wake the f**k up" while the franchise he once commanded heads in pretty much the opposite direction he had in mind will.
Man of Steel, Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad were all poorly received by critics upon their release. All managed to make quite a bit of money, but were lacking in quality, with David Ayer's film working from the blueprint Snyder established in those two earlier works. Wonder Woman was the first unanimous success in Warner Bros' cinematic experiment, and it succeeded by telling an altogether more different kind of story than was seen in either of those three films. It was optimistic, hopeful, and championed Princess Diana as a peacemaker determined to save man's world from itself.
After that, Aquaman came along. Like Wonder Woman, the film divested from the bleaker tones of Snyder's earlier works and cast King Arthur Curry as a jovial adventurer, making a huge splash at the box-office and becoming DC's highest grossing movie in the process.
In the intervening months since Wonder Woman and Aquaman's success, WB have been busy restructuring the future of their franchise too. Snyder hasn't returned in a creative capacity, while the likes of Birds of Prey and Matt Reeves' Batman seek to sever ties from those earlier depictions. All serve as proof that the director's original vision just didn't translate, and yet he's patronising fans for championing a version of DC that now looks as though it'll inspire its onscreen future.
It is, quite frankly, bizarre. The DC Universe is home to dozens of different styles, tones and moods, and they all coexist under one roof. So no, fans don't need to "wake the f**ck up". If anything, Snyder would do well to reappraise his earlier works, and understand why they failed Batman in particular so badly.