With so many DC and Marvel Studios movies underperforming at the box office, it's getting more difficult to dismiss the notion of "superhero fatigue." Audiences certainly appear to be growing tired with the usual comic book movie formula, and it seems we can count one well-known filmmaker among them.
The Atlantic has published a new piece on Justice League and Rebel Moon director Zack Snyder, and the divisive filmmaker was asked about the current state of the superhero genre.
“I have the same fatigue,” Snyder responded, describing comic book adaptations as “a cul-de-sac,” which are no longer capable of telling self-contained stories. “No one thinks they’re going to a one-off superhero movie.”
Snyder, who kick-started what came to be known as the DCEU with Man of Steel before going on to helm two more films in the franchise, recently said he would return to finish his saga if Netflix held the rights, but it doesn't sound like he's in any rush to revisit the DC characters.
“I’m not knocking on James Gunn’s door, going, like, ‘Bro, shoot me one of those sweet movies,’” Snyder said. “The holy grail is some original IP that you create, that has resonance and is cool.”
Snyder did just that with Rebel Moon, and even though the first film, A Child of Fire, was pretty much torn to shreds by critics, it has been notching up a lot of views for Netflix, and along with Part 2: The Scargiver, comic books, spin-off shows, and even a video game are planned.
Despite Snyder's many detractors, he has a highly respected and influential fan in Christopher Nolan.
“There’s no superhero science-fiction film coming out these days where I don’t see some influence of Zack,” The Oppenheimer and Inception director, who has worked with Snyder several times as a producer, tells the site. “When you watch a Zack Snyder film, you see and feel his love for the potential of cinema. The potential of it to be fantastical, to be heightened in its reality, but to move you and to excite you.”
What do you make of Snyder's comments? Do you agree with Nolan's assessment of the director? Be sure to share your thoughts with us in the usual place.
From Zack Snyder, the filmmaker behind 300, Man of Steel, and Army of the Dead, comes REBEL MOON, an epic science-fantasy event decades in the making. When a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival.
Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of warriors — outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed.
The heroes of Rebel Moon are: Kora (Sofia Boutella), an Imperium deserter who leaves the peaceful Veldt to fight back; Kai (Charlie Hunnam), a mercenary pilot whose Tawau-Class freighter will prove invaluable to Kora’s quest; Gunnar (Michiel Huisman), a Veldt farmer who knows little of the galaxy outside of his small, quiet corner of the galaxy; General Titus (Djimon Hounsou), a hardened gladiator who once served the Imperium; Tarak (Staz Nair), a noble indentured servant who shares a bond with a flying creature called a Bennu; Nemesis (Doona Bae), a cyborg sword master whose mechanical hands allow her to wield molten-metal weapons; Darrian Bloodaxe (Ray Fisher), an insurgent who has been harrying the Imperium with guerilla attacks; and Milius (E. Duffy), a refugee who seeks justice for their home — a colony that has already fallen to the Mother World.
Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire hits Netflix on December 21. The sequel, Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver, will debut on April 19, 2024.