Last month, some diehard Zack Snyder fans tried to get the hashtag #SellSnyderVerseToNetflix trending on social media. The purpose, much like the #ReleasetheSnyderCut campaign, is to force Warner Bros. Discovery’s hand and have the studio sell the rights to Zack Sndyer’s DC films to Netflix so the story can continue on. It’s a completely illogical idea, for a number of reasons that we have discussed before. Regardless, it was trending, and the tweets were hinting that something was going to happen this week. Well, with that deadline fast approaching, James Gunn (who has been very online recently) debunked the speculation.
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In a response to a tweet that carried the #SellSnyderVerseToNetflix hashtag, Gunn quickly denied any rumors that Netflix was negotiating with WBD for the rights to the SnyderVerse films. Something that probably shouldn’t need to be said out loud, but we’re grateful that Gunn just outright put an end to that speculation.
“I have to say, this has got to be the wackiest hashtag ever,” Gunn tweeted. “1) Netflix hasn’t expressed any such interest (although we’ve discussed other stuff) & 2) Zack hasn’t expressed any interest & seems to be happy doing what he’s doing (and, yes, we too have talked).”
He continued, “He contacted me to express his support about my choices. He’s a great guy. Again, he seems really happy with the massive world-building he’s doing now.”
So, not only do we get denial about some secret megadeal between WBD and Netflix, but we also got confirmation that Snyder has spoken to Gunn and expressed his support about the new direction the DCU is going on. A direction, I might add, that includes basically erasing everything Zack Snyder built and starting fresh. While this isn’t the response Snyder fans were likely hoping to see, it’s the most obvious answer and something that diehard Snyder folks should have been expecting.
Even if Netflix approached WBD about the deal and even if WBD would be interested in selling off the film rights to some of its biggest IP in the library, there’s really just no way Snyder would even have time to work on those films. Not only is he knee-deep in “Rebel Moon” work, which is two separate films, but he’s also got a number of other projects at Netflix in various stages of development. Snyder has finally found a studio willing to let him build whatever he wants and do it his own way, which is the type of freedom he wasn’t getting anywhere else. So, let’s all just move on and let the filmmaker do his sci-fi epic.
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And like it or not, hashtag campaigns aren’t going to derail a massive plan that James Gunn and his partner Peter Safran unveiled recently for the DCU. Their DC Studios is going to be hard at work on five films and five TV series for the next several years, with more projects in the pipeline. So, it’s time to just embrace it or move on.