Once upon a time, Zack Snyder had a vision for the DC Universe, but it was not to be. After Snyder stepped down as the director of Justice League, Warner Bros. brought Joss Whedon on board to rewrite and reshot a large portion of the movie. Zack Snyder eventually brought his version of Justice League to life on HBO Max, but once James Gunn and Peter Safran signed on to run the new DC Universe, it was clear that the SnyderVerse had officially come to an end.
SnyderVerse fans are still holding out hope that, somehow, the franchise will be restored, and they’ll get to see Zack Snyder continue the story. Some fans have even started urging the studio to sell the SnyderVerse to Netflix, which caught the attention of James Gunn, who revealed on Twitter that he’s spoken with Zack Snyder.
“I have to say, this has got to be the wackiest hashtag ever,” James Gunn said. “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).” The new DC Studios head added that Snyder “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.” Of course, James Gunn and Zack Snyder are hardly strangers to one another, as Gunn penned the script for Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake.
That “massive world building” that Zack Snyder is undertaking is Rebel Moon, a sci-fi fantasy epic for Netflix. The film takes place on a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy, which is threatened by the arrival of the armies of a tyrannical regent named Belisarius. The desperate colonists dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighbouring planets to help them make a stand and defend their home. Sofia Boutella will star as the mysterious young woman, with Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Bae Donna, Jena Malone, Ray Fisher, Stuart Martin, Michiel Huisman, Cary Elwes, Corey Stoll, Ed Skrein, Alfonso Herrera, Anthony Hopkins, and more rounding out the stacked cast of Rebel Moon. A second part is already planned, but the first film will debut on Netflix on December 22, 2023.
Following the release of the remaining DC movies (Shazam: Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom), the first project to emerge from the new DC Universe will be Superman: Legacy, which James Gunn himself will write. The film is set for a July 11, 2025 release.