Though Zack Snyder was given millions to recut “Justice League” for HBO Max, a new profile of DC Films president Walter Hamada suggests that the director of “Man of Steel” and “Batman v. Superman” isn’t part of the studio’s future plans to build a multiverse in its films.
The New York Times on Sunday outlined Hamada’s vision for a DC Films multiverse that can rival Marvel and provide content for both theaters and HBO Max. The report clarified that characters like Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck’s Batman that appeared in Snyder’s films will continue in one universe, while Robert Pattinson’s Batman will live on Earth 2.
But Snyder’s four-hour director’s cut of “Justice League” — “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” which will drop in installments on HBO Max in 2021 — as well as any other spinoffs and sequels aren’t involved with the future DC Films has planned.
“At least for now, Mr. Snyder is not part of the new DC Films blueprint, with studio executives describing his HBO Max project as a storytelling cul-de-sac — a street that leads nowhere,” the New York Times’ Brooks Barnes wrote on Sunday.
The clash between Snyder and Warner Bros. over the original “Justice League” and fans’ demands to #ReleasetheSnyderCut are well known. And TheWrap has reported about the additional “remedial action” taken following an investigation into the drama between “Justice League” director Joss Whedon and star Ray Fisher.
Warner Bros. just announced that it would be “fast-tracking” a “Wonder Woman 3” with Gadot and director Patty Jenkins returning after “Wonder Woman 1984” grossed $85 million worldwide over the Christmas holiday weekend. The studio’s future plans also include “The Batman” with Pattinson, “The Flash” movie that will feature Affleck and Michael Keaton reprising their roles as Batman, James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” and additional TV spinoffs of “The Batman” and “The Suicide Squad” that will head to HBO Max.
Snyder also has an ambitious project in the works with Netflix: a zombie film called “Army of the Dead” that also has an anime series component and a planned prequel film.
Check out the full profile on Hamada here.