Zack Snyder Fans Blast Netflix After Major Justice League Announcement
Fans of writer-director Zack Snyder are coming out in droves on X, formerly known as Twitter, to rail on Netflix after its announcement that many of DC's superhero movies are coming to the streamer December 1.
In its X post November 1, Netflix announced the DC Extended Universe films "Man of Steel," "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," "Suicide Squad," "Wonder Woman," "Wonder Woman 1984," "Birds of Prey," "The Suicide Squad," and "Justice League" are being added to its list of titles. However, the inclusion of the latter film irked fans because it is the Joss Whedon-directed version of "Justice League" from 2017, and not "Zack Snyder's Justice League" — the director's cut of the film — from 2021.
X user @HeroesUnbound responded to Netflix's post with the poster of "Zack Snyder's Justice League," writing, "Nice try, but that's the wrong Justice League!" Meanwhile, @ACurlyRay called out the streamer over "Justice League" and another Snyder-related omission, posting, "@netflix would you please put [Batman vs Superman Ultimate Edition] and [Zack Snyder's Justice League] on there."
Zack Snyder's version of Justice League fared far better with critics and fans
The controversy over Warner Bros.' handling of Snyder's films dates back to before the release of "Justice League" in 2017, when a family tragedy prompted the filmmaker to step back from his directorial duties on the film. Joss Whedon, who won acclaim for directing and co-writing the Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbusters "The Avengers" and "Avengers: Age of Ultron," was brought in by DC the finish the film.
However, the transition was anything but smooth. Whedon overhauled what Snyder shot for "Justice League," and it was derided by critics on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes with a 37 percent "rotten" rating. Fans were a bit kinder, though, with a 67 percent favorable Audience Score. Ultimately, the 1 hour and 59 minute film was no match for "Zack Snyder's Justice League" that was released exclusively on Warner Bros.' streaming service HBO Max (now Max) four years later. Clocking in at supersized 4 hour and 2 minutes, the filmmaker's reworked version of the epic yielded a "fresh" 72 percent rating and a stellar 93 percent audience score making it Snyder's best DCEU movie on Rotten Tomatoes.
And while "Zack Snyder's Justice League" remains as a streaming title on Max for the time being, it hasn't stopped X users from blasting Netflix for failing to get the title for its platform. X user @bestreviewevr simply reacted to the streaming giant's post by writing, "Is Netflix trying to lose [subscribers]?"
Could the announcement lead to Netflix acquiring the Snyderverse?
Some X users tried to look at Netflix's announcement as a positive thing, thinking maybe steps are being taken to acquire Snyder's DC films so he can see his vision for DC through. After all, Snyder fans have been rallying Netflix to make this move since Snyder partnered up for the original films "Army of the Dead" and "Army of Thieves," as well as the upcoming "Rebel Moon."
As such, @CharlesReactsYT posted on X, "Buy the rights to the SnyderVerse trilogy, and get Zack to finish his story! #RestoreTheSnyderVerse @Netflix is our hope." X user @restoreZSJL echoed @CharlesReactsYT's sentiments, posting, "@netflix [I] hope you're taking note of how much engagement this post is getting There is such a massive calling to see the rest of [Zack's] vision There's loads of untapped potential that has yet to be unlocked Please consider contacting WB to get the rights & #RestoreTheSnyderVerse."
While it may be a long shot, the power of fans' voice have accomplished some pretty wild things in the past.