Netflix Gave Zack Snyder What DCEU Couldn't (Or Wouldn't Bother)
By giving Zack Snyder a December 2023 release date for Rebel Moon, Netflix is showing their faith in Snyder and his film. More importantly, they're setting him up for success. That's something DC never did.
The December release slot is hallowed ground for Netflix releases. In 2018, it was the slot for Bird Box. In 2021, it was Don't Look Up. This past December, it was Glass Onion. Those are three of the top four Netflix movies in history, based on their own reporting of hours viewed. The top spot is Red Notice, which was released in November.
The December release means adults are off of work and (more importantly) teens and college students are out of school – the perfect time for bingeing Netflix. This kind of studio support wasn't given by DC.
Snyder began the DCEU in 2013, setting the tone of the extended universe with Man of Steel. It was mildly successful and warranted sequels, beginning with Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice three years later – met with a lukewarm response.
The follow-up, Justice League, was reviled. It made $658 million – seemingly not a bad haul, but measured against its $300 million budget, massive marketing expenses, and lofty goals of catching up with the billion-dollar films of Marvel, it was essentially a flop.
Snyder can take a little credit for the failure, but he was not set up to succeed. DC cut him off at the knees.
Their first mistake was trying to catch up too quickly to Marvel. For decades, they had the more popular characters and media. With the explosion of the MCU in 2012, DC rushed into an extended universe of their own. With only two movies, DC didn't give Snyder any time to develop his characters before the big team-up. It's not his fault they came off bland; he wasn't allotted the proper amount of time.
Next, they cut the runtime of Justice League. It was originally supposed to be two movies, but instead, the studio forced it into one and demanded it be under two hours.
In a genre where fans have proven they're willing to sit through three-hour runtimes, Snyder was not put in a position to succeed.
Halfway through filming, he suffered a personal tragedy and was replaced by Joss Whedon – who carries a wildly different style of filmmaking. Whedon's lighthearted take was very out of place in the dark, brooding world Snyder created.
Four years after Justice League, HBO Max released the Snyder Cut of Justice League, a closer take on his original vision. Unsurprisingly, it was met with much better reviews.
As further evidence of DC's unwillingness or inability to support their star director, neither Batman v Superman or Justice League had ideal release dates – March and November, respectively – in an industry where theaters are filled in the summers.
Still early in his deal with Netflix and with far lower stakes, Snyder already has far more studio support than he ever got with DC.