Zack Snyder discusses his take on Superman and the hardest part of telling a Superman story

Zack Snyder he introduced a very different kind of Superman to his Man of Steel movie. This was a much darker take on the character, and it was something some fans found a little jarring at first. He was a unique version of Superman that we weren’t used to seeing.

During a recent panel at SnyderCon, the director talked about his take on Superman and the hardest part of telling a Superman story. This is trying to give the hero real problems to deal with. He explained:

“My whole opinion of Superman is… my intention isn’t that Superman is angry, it’s rather that he is upset by the Earth, because the Earth is problematic for him. The whole idea of ​​Superman in his iconographic form… the potential is for him to have no problems, right? He’s a god on Earth and he can pretty much do whatever he wants and… we don’t have much to say about that. Which is Lex’s problem with him and… Batman’s problem with him.

“So for Superman, the real job is to get him into trouble. That’s Superman’s job: to get it to him, whether it’s romantic matters… or whether it’s moral conundrums about what his role is in terms of whether or not to interfere in human lives… and all of them too. the things we all, in some way, experience on a small scale as mere human beings. That’s really the job of making a Superman movie relatable… you want to be where he has to emotionally come to terms with his own humanity.

I liked it Man of Steel, and I liked the direction the character seemed to be taking. Then there were Batman versus Superman AND Justice League, which didn’t quite hit me. I was hoping to eventually see the inspirational version of the character. Henry Cavillwho was amazing in the role, previously shared his vision saying:

“I have a very close bond with the character. And there’s something extraordinarily special about him; extraordinarily special for his ability to give and to love. I don’t mean romantically; I mean his love for the Earth and the people who live here, and to make people feel powerful, to make people feel like Superman.

“I have many wishes for this, of course, which I will talk about more at length. But the most important thing, which I will aim for, is for the audience to leave the cinema and feel they can fly, to feel able to protect and feel they want to give to everyone else. That would be my goal.”

This is the version of Cavill’s Superman I’ve been waiting to see! Unfortunately, now, that will never happen. It’s a shame, but I’m also curiously excited about what Gunn will deliver Superman: Legacy. I just wish we could have seen Cavill fully realized as Superman.