With “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” hitting Netflix tomorrow, Zack Snyder is making the press rounds to promote his latest film. But the most intriguing stuff he talked about on the Happy Sad Confused podcast didn’t have anything to do with “Rebel Moon” at all. Instead, Snyder talked about some of the actors he met with as he was casting Lex Luthor for “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” including comic book guy Leonardo DiCaprio.

Continue reading Zack Snyder Says He Talked With Leonardo DiCaprio & Adam Driver For Lex Luthor Role at The Playlist.

Once upon a time, there was a lot of hope for Zack Snyder‘s vision for the DC Universe. “Man of Steel” was primarily well-received, and upcoming plans for a new actor to play Batman in a big-budget crossover film, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” had fans excited for a Marvel-like plan that was about to unfurl.

Continue reading Josh Brolin Reveals He Almost Played An “Older, Raspier” Version Of Batman For Zack Snyder at The Playlist.

Believe it or not, there’s a new interview with Zack Snyder where he talks about DC superhero films! Shocking, I know. But in the new episode of Happy. Sad. Confused., Syder does mention a bit of DCEU trivia that was previously unknown, as he talks about an actor he had in mind for Batman if Ben Affleck passed on the role.

READ MORE: Zack Snyder Pitched Amy Adams The Idea Of A Female-Led Version Of ‘The Wrestler’

As we all know, Ben Affleck played the role of Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, in Snyder’s “Batman v.

Continue reading Zack Snyder Says Matthias Schoenaerts Was A Potential Batman Back-Up When Ben Affleck Had Reservations at The Playlist.

Over the weekend, Zack Snyder and various other “Justice League” folks got together for this year’s Justice Con. And while there was plenty to talk about regarding the superhero team-up film, particularly with the news that Ray Fisher wouldn’t mind coming back to the DCEU in the future, some of the more interesting conversations revolved around “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.”

READ MORE: Screenwriter Chris Terrio Said His ‘Justice League’ Script Was “Vandalized” When Joss Whedon Took Over

Speaking at Justice Con (via Screen Rant), filmmaker Zack Snyder and writer Chris Terrio talked about some of the behind-the-scenes discussions that happened while prepping ‘Batman v.

Continue reading Zack Snyder Says Batman & Superman Meeting Scene In ‘BvS’ Was Inspired by Michael Mann’s ‘Heat’ at The Playlist.

Though for all intents and purposes, when you think of “Man of Steel,” “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and “Justice League,” the creator that springs to mind first and foremost is Zack Snyder. And as director, that’s definitely understandable. But when it comes to ‘BvS’ and “Justice League,” you can’t talk about the creation of those films without mentioning screenwriter Chris Terrio, who came to the DC film universe after working with Ben Affleck on “Argo.” Now, after years of negative criticism from fans and reviewers and reports of huge amounts of studio interference on his DCEU films, Terrio is speaking out about his time with Batman, Superman, and the rest of the DC superheroes.

Continue reading Screenwriter Chris Terrio Said His ‘Justice League’ Script Was “Vandalized” When Joss Whedon Took Over at The Playlist.

Warning, potential spoilers for “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” so read ahead at your own peril. That said, the spoilers are not fairly minor and mostly about one scene in the movie

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021

Vanity Fair was able to get the first clear images of Jared Leto‘s Joker in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” which will be exclusively dropping on HBO Max on March 18.

Continue reading Zack Snyder Reveals First Look At Jared Leto’s Joker & Suggests New ‘Justice League’ Teases Robin’s Death at The Playlist.

At this point, it’s been clearly established that George Clooney does not like “Batman & Robin,” or at least is so focused on pleasing the fans who hated that movie, that he’ll continue to apologize for the rest of his life. Now, it seems Clooney is even expanding his opinion to encompass the entirety of the character, as proven by him trying to talk Ben Affleck out of playing Batman.

Continue reading George Clooney Continues To Badmouth ‘Batman & Robin,’ Tried To Talk Ben Affleck Out Of Playing Batman at The Playlist.

Leading up to the release of David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad,” there were a number of reports that said Warner Bros. was concerned about the tone of his film because of the negative reviews for Zack Snyder’s “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.” At the time, obviously no one related to the film was going to talk about that being true or not.

Continue reading ‘Suicide Squad’: David Ayer Says ‘Deadpool’ Success & ‘BvS’ Failure Turned His “Soulful Drama” Into A Comedy at The Playlist.

When it comes to popular culture, the “meek” have already inherited the Earth. This is a sentiment you see echoed during conversations about contemporary fandom and the state of the superhero movies. While comic books have historically been a form of escape for outsider “geeks” on the fringes, they are now positively mainstream and a driving force in pop culture. This gives fandom enormous power in the eyes of the marketing executives, especially when it comes to contentious projects, such as a director’s cut of “Justice League” from director Zack Snyder.

Continue reading ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ Raises Questions About Fandom & The Future Of Film at The Playlist.

Close your eyes and imagine a film where Batman and Superman fight. Okay, imagine that film is somehow darker than what Zack Snyder delivered in his “Batman v. Superman” film. Shocking, right? Well, according to a recent interview with Collider, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman revealed that he was working on a version of ‘BvS’ almost 20 years ago that might have been grittier than the Snyderverse. Maybe.

READ MORE: Andy Serkis Teases An Even Darker, Broodier Tone For ‘The Batman’ But Also A Central Role For Alfred

Here’s the description given by Goldsman of the unproduced film:

“I wrote on […] this version of ‘Batman v Superman’ [around 2001or 2002]— when Colin Farrell was cast as Batman and Jude Law was cast as Superman and Wolfgang Petersen was directing —we were in prep and it was the darkest thing you’ve ever seen.

Continue reading Unproduced ‘Batman V. Superman’ Film Starring Colin Farrell & Jude Law Was “The Darkest Thing” Ever Says Screenwriter at The Playlist.

If you want to sit down and start a debate with a superhero film fan, all you have to do is ask them about their thoughts on “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.” The Zack Snyder film is still discussed heavily, more than four years after it hit theaters. And a lot of that comes down to Snyder’s vision of superheroes and the two biggest icons of the genre, specifically.

Continue reading Zack Snyder Talks Jimmy Olsen, Martian Manhunter, Sequels & More In ‘Batman V Superman’ Commentary at The Playlist.

Looking back at the short-lived Snyderverse vision of the DCEU, which began in “Man of Steel” and ran until “Justice League” (though there are legions of fans that would argue that the team-up film shouldn’t be considered an honest to goodness Zack Snyder film), there’s a lot that people will criticize. The films are definitely dark (both figuratively and literally) and there are definitely some, uh, interesting choices made by the filmmaker and his cast.

Continue reading Jesse Eisenberg Wants To Revisit Lex Luthor & Says Villains Are “The Fun Part” In Superhero Films at The Playlist.

The last couple of months have been filled with plenty of Best of the Decade lists. We’ve released quite a few of our own, actually. But no list that we’ve previously come across can really be described as similar to the Best Films of the Decade list released by writer Armond White of National Review.

Now, that isn’t to say that White is necessarily wrong to have the opinions he has (everyone is entitled to love/hate movies, no matter what critical consensus exists), but there’s something almost angry about the picks he makes for his Best of the 2010s list that it’s worth mentioning a few of the controversial entries.

Continue reading Armond White’s Best Of The Decade Features ‘Man Of Steel,’ ‘Batman V. Superman’ & Michael Bay’s “Masterpiece” ‘Pain & Gain’ at The Playlist.

With Robert Pattinson taking over Batman, Jason Momoa and Gal Gadot firmly set as Aquaman and Wonder Woman, Margot Robbie and James Gunn attempting to fix Harley Quinn and The Suicide Squad, and Joaquin Phoenix doing whatever the hell he’s doing in “Joker,” the current state of the DCEU (or whatever it’s called) is in a bit of flux.

Continue reading Henry Cavill Says He’s Not Done As Superman Just Yet: “The Cape Is In My Closet. It’s Still Mine.” at The Playlist.

Whether you’re a member of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut faithful, someone that thinks Zack Snyder has a fundamental misunderstanding of superhero storytelling, or somewhere in between, everyone can agree that the filmmaker’s DCEU films have their faults. No movie is perfect, and when you talk about “Man of Steel,” “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and “Justice League,” there are plenty of scenes to deconstruct to find out what happened behind-the-scenes to lead to the finished product.

Continue reading Zack Snyder Admits There Was A “Really Scary Version” Of ‘Justice League’ That Was Changed After Negative ‘BvS’ Reception at The Playlist.

Filmmaker Zack Snyder has very specific ideas about what makes a good superhero film. Whether you are someone that thinks his superhero films are unnecessarily dark and bleak or someone who bows at the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut altar, there’s no denying that the filmmaker sees superheroes differently than many others. And over the weekend, at the Director’s Cut event, where Snyder showed off a few extended versions of his films, the filmmaker laid out his de facto manifesto on what separates his philosophy on superheroes from other people.

Continue reading Zack Snyder Explains Why His Version Of Batman Kills & How Superheroes Aren’t “Innocent”: “Wake The F— Up!” at The Playlist.

Sure, it’s great when a filmmaker takes the time out to answer questions that fans pose on social media. Of course, that’s as long as the fans aren’t complete trolls. However, in the case of Zack Snyder and his various films in the DC Universe, enough is enough. It’s time to let it go.

Once again, Snyder, who directed “Man of Steel” and “Batman v.

Continue reading Zack Snyder Won’t Stop Talking About Batman And Reveals Dick Grayson Is The Dead DCEU Robin at The Playlist.

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” was not a critical success. Like many DC Extended Universe (DCEU) films, the studio seemingly rushed to bring some of the most iconic superhero characters together on screen. Many critics felt that Zack Snyder, David S. Goyer, and Chris Terrio‘s collective vision was far too muddled with action, highlighting spectacle over substance. The film was rather polarizing with audiences as well, landing a 63% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Continue reading ‘Batman v Superman’ Cinematographer Defends The Superhero Team-Up And Director Zack Snyder at The Playlist.

Actor Josh Brolin has to be riding high right about now. With long-awaited debuts of his characters Thanos, in the upcoming “Avengers: Infinity War,” and Cable, in “Deadpool 2,” Brolin is pretty much the King of comic book fandom. But in a couple recent interviews, the actor doesn’t talk about these future hit films. Instead, he ponders the “What if?” scenarios that have plagued him over the last several years.

Continue reading Josh Brolin Reveals Park Chan-Wook Almost Directed ‘Jonah Hex’ And Confirms Another ‘Avengers’ Rumor at The Playlist.

If there is justice in the world (pun fully intended), fans will get a documentary about the behind-the-scenes drama that occurred between director Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. after the release of ‘Batman v Superman’ and before the release of “Justice League.” While there have been thousands and thousands of words written about the relationship between the filmmaker and the studio, there just seems to be a lot of unanswered questions, particularly about what could have been if Snyder’s full vision was realized in “Justice League.”

Slowly, but surely, we are getting answers to these questions from the man himself, Zack Snyder.

Continue reading Director Zack Snyder Explains ‘Knightmare’ Scene And Cryptic Opening In ‘Batman V Superman’ at The Playlist.

When Jena Malone was first spotted by superfans on the set of “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” speculation about her then mysterious role was feverish. Was she playing Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl? Robin? Well, as we finally learned with the release of the Zack Snyder‘s extended cut of ‘Batman v Superman,’ the answer was much more benign.

Malone wound up playing Jenet Klyburn, a fairly minor character in the DC Comics universe.

Continue reading Jena Malone Reveals What She Learned By Being Cut From ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice’ at The Playlist.

There are few things more dull than the ongoing, passionate battle between small fractions of the DC and Marvel movie fanbase. The two camps are engaged online in a prolonged battle to determine which corporate backed adaptation of a comic book brand is better than the other. It’s one thing to be a fan of either Marvel or DC, it’s another to make yourself hoarse (virtually speaking) in defending the supposed honor of a franchise.

Continue reading James Gunn Says Marvel Vs. DC Bickering Is “Wasted Energy” at The Playlist.

It must really a bummer that everything Zack Snyder tried to establish for the DC Films universe with “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” is being left behind. Executive Geoff Johns is pivoting away from the gritty, serious tone of the film, Ben Affleck might be bailing on his role as Batman, and now Gal Gadot reveals that when it was time to make “Wonder Woman,” the filmmakers essentially ditched Snyder’s approach to the character.

Continue reading Gal Gadot Explains How ‘Batman v Superman’ Got Wonder Woman Wrong at The Playlist.

No one knows better than Ben Affleck that the reaction to last year’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” wasn’t great. We don’t need to rehash the countless ways in which Zack Snyder‘s superhero showdown missed the mark, but the actor himself became the poster boy for WB and DC’s failings with the Sad Affleck meme, which over a year later, is still hilarious.

From the film’s overly grim tone, to the ridiculous plotting that included jars of urine, and Moms named Martha, ‘Dawn Of Justice’ took it on the chin and then some.

Continue reading Ben Affleck Says ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice’ Criticisms Were “Fair” at The Playlist.

The superhero house at DC Films has been in disarray for a while now. The smash success of this summer’s “Wonder Woman” hasn’t changed that fact, but in case you had any doubt, an extensive new piece from Vulture is a reminder that Marvel’s rival are still figuring out just what the hell they’re doing.

The plans for a grand DC Extended Universe stumbled right out of the gate with “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” which was critically maligned and underperformed at the box office, failing to hit $1 billion, which one would expect from a movie featuring those two titanic heroes.

Continue reading DC Films Stepping Away From The Cinematic Universe Thing, Geoff Johns Talks Lack Of Strategy at The Playlist.