YouTube host Skiiwalker Tha Jedi didn't realize what he created with the #SellSnyderVerseToNetflix campaign. Since its creation last winter, the movement has acquired over a million tweets, coverage in Forbes, and even Zack Snyder himself said it'd be "amazing" if such a deal happened. But the man who came up with it sits largely in the shadows. That is, until this interview.
How did you come up with #Sell campaign?
"First I'd like to thank you for asking, I always relish any opportunity to speak and inform people about our campaign and I'm very grateful for the spotlight on what we've been doing by this platform. When Henry Cavill first announced that he'd no longer be our Superman, it devastated not only the Zack Snyder fans but the larger DC fanbase as a whole. Because with that news we knew that a reboot would soon be following. If you recast Superman, more than likely you will do the same with the rest of the core Justice League characters. As not only Zack Snyder fans but fans of DC in general this seemed like the end of the road for us getting a conclusion to the story we all were so gripped and intrigued by. I saw a lot of pain that turned into anger and frustration that began to spiral out of control and it only seemed to get worse each day. I saw it in every corner of the DC fandom, even those who were adversarial to some of the prior movements but came around after the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League. We ALL just wanted a conclusion to the story we were enjoying. Witnessing all this pain and frustration in real-time really started to weigh on me, especially seeing it from my own viewers and followers along with people that I collaborate with on a regular basis. I felt like I had to do something but I didn't know what I could really do at that point. A day or so later while I was driving in my car, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen started randomly playing and it was almost surreal. I was instantly transported back to the moment I first saw the teaser trailer for ZSJL and something in me just clicked. I returned home later that evening and watched all of the trailers in the order of release along with the ending of the Snyder Cut and I then said to myself "This CANNOT be the end"! Immediately I started brainstorming on exactly how we could get this done while still respecting the fact that WBD isn't at all interested in continuing with Zack's plan and licensing it to his current studio home just seemed like the perfect option. Naturally, Netflix currently having Zack under contract was an advantage for them along with them already having worked with most of the Justice League cast and also already having ZSJL on their platform outside of North America. "Why wouldn't the biggest streaming platform in the world that already has these advantages, not want a sequel to a global phenomenon?" is what I kept asking myself. I took this idea to two people that I trust immensely before going public. First to Leon of the Nu Geekz who is a member of my streaming partners "The Cool Table", and secondly to the YouTube personality that I started my channel because of Syl Abdul. I value both of their opinions greatly and both of them signed off and thought it was a great idea. After that, I said it on stream January 3rd and with some major help from my friend Sammie aka SnyderQueen it went viral. Everything started to kind of fall into place naturally after that with Leon helping me with the messaging of the campaign, Sammie doing her part to help expand the reach of the movement (I don't even think she slept those first few days), and Syl kind of playing the background but still being a beacon of light that we can use to guide ourselves through treacherous times. This thing doesn't launch the way it did without their efforts and everyone else who poured into this thing from the very beginning."
What were your expectations going into it?
"Honestly, my expectations initially was just to give some hope to my viewers and the rest of #SylNation. I didn't like where the energy was headed after the Cavill announcement and I thought that most importantly we needed a shift in our mindset as a wider community. If this thing would've stopped with only my viewers being on board, that would have been a tremendous win for me personally. But seeing how many people have seen that it's actually possible and that have embraced it, it's truly humbling and I'm grateful for every person that has chosen to rock out with us. Now my expectations have changed. In my book we've already won as a fandom. For so long the Zack Snyder fanbase has been labeled rightly or wrongly as toxic bots who are impossible to please and have been blamed for the poor box office outings of several DC films. While I would never say that there are no toxic people that like Snyder's films, I would very much so state that it is FAR from the majority. I've certainly never fit into that category and most people in the community that I know also don't fit into that category. So now that for the first time a Zack Snyder-related movement is being attributed as being positive, that's the biggest win of all for me. If we end up failing in our goals to get this thing licensed, at least we failed on our own terms is how I see it. Luckily, I really believe we're going to get this done."
SnyderVerse fans are often the target of online trolls. Why do you feel that is?
"Trolls? Never seen any. Obviously I'm joking but I think it's a few things. One, Zack Snyder is one of the most popular directors on the planet and has been for the past few years. He has a massive fanbase that is passionate and always online due to the sheer numbers across the world. It's truly a worldwide community that really loves whatever Zack does and likes to engage in deeper conversation about his works. And just like the massive fanbases of the Lakers, Cowboys, and Yankees, people will be in opposition to those groups. I don't think it's any different. Having Zack Snyder in your title gets big views on YouTube, it brings in his fans as well as the trolls to tell us that what we're doing is stupid or isn't going to work even if what we're asking for doesn't hurt or harm anyone or even any upcoming DC projects. Zack's world can be it's own thing so I'm not sure why it merely existing causes so much frustration. Lastly, I think a lot of the pushback we get is because of how organized and mobilized his fans are. We can trend our hashtags on any given day, do fundraisers, billboards, plane banners, bus stop ads etc etc. And whenever you have that level of mobilization, it draws the attention of certain people that don't like that type of thing. I'm not even upset with the trolls anymore, whenever I have a moment where I'm a little down on energy I can just look in my mentions and use that to draw on to galvanize more people with positivity."
What were your expectations for DC after Walter Hamada was fired but before James Gunn became co-ceo of DC Studios?
"They were astronomical honestly. I thought the sky was the limit. All of the obstacles that our community had been dealing with were seemingly gone and Zack coming back to finish his story seemed inevitable at that point, ZSJL was a massive success worldwide and a sequel had to have been on the horizon in our eyes. Once Cavill announced he was returning as Superman and Zack said he couldn't wait to with him again the energy was off the charts. Seeing Cavill in Black Adam was like seeing your best friend that you haven't seen in years. People were so happy not only for him returning but what his return meant to the greater picture. DC was finally about to compete with Marvel again. We were finally about see a completion to what may be the greatest comic-book movie film series ever made. We were finally there after all this fighting to be heard and acknowledged. Until we weren't. You can compare and contrast the reaction to Cavill announcing he's back and him announcing he's leaving and that should tell you everything you need to know about not only my expectations but the rest of the DC fanbase's expectations as well."
Why do you feel Gunn isn't giving the SnyderVerse fans what they want?
"I think Gunn is doing what he feels is best for DC as a whole and for that I can't fault him. But what I will say is that I personally don't think that what he feels is best for DC is actually best for DC. I've seen most of his films and even with me being a fan of the first Guardians film and Slither, I just don't believe his style will translate well with these types of characters. I think the box office earnings of The Suicide Squad reflected that, it was a big loss for the studio at a time when other films like Jungle Cruise were bringing in revenue. We're not in opposition to James Gunn doing his own thing with DC, in fact we encourage it. Our campaign is only interested in letting Netflix know that they have a sizeable subscriber base that is ready to engage with any project allowing Zack to finish his DC arc. We've completely moved our conversation from Warners over to Netflix and will keep our efforts focused there. We only ask that any future DCU box office results not be attributed with our movement or the Zack Snyder fandom and for it to be judged on it's own merits."
Who is assisting you with the #Sell campaign?
"Along with the people I mentioned earlier that helped all the way from the beginning up to now like Syl Abdul being the beacon, Leon of the NuGeekz being my right hand and Sammie/SnyderQueen pushing this thing to highest of heights there's been a few other people behind the scenes that have been very key in making this what it's become. The other two members of The Cool Table have been tremendous help with The Good Austin designing our first shirt in support of AFSP as well other graphics and hype videos we've used. And L Necron building a great relationship with the fabulous people over at www.inktothepeople.com which is where our shirt campaign is running currently. Trey and Super Bro Corey over at The Bat Channel have helped us out as well with pushing the movement and raising money. Jacob has gotten Zack to like posts with our Hashtags almost ten times now on Vero. There's been so many people that have chipped in here or there and I want to thank all of them personally for what they've done. We wouldn't be here now if not for each and every one of you. There's two more people I'd like to highlight but I'll talk about them when we get to Stone Quarry."
How successful has it been this far?
"Well, not only did we start trending in less than 24 hours after I first spoke the hashtag on stream but we've also trended most days since then. Right now we are approaching 1.2 million uses of the hashtags since January 3rd which includes almost 400,000 uses on our first trending day event last February 14th. There's been four Forbes articles covering our movement in a mostly positive fashion along with Zack Snyder himself even seemingly giving us his approval by liking posts related to our hashtags. Zack's own Green Lantern Wayne T. Carr joined us on trending day by using the hashtags three times and giving us two new photos with one being a new Justice League logo (that we also use for shirts benefiting AFSP) and the other being a never before seen picture of him and Zack taken during filming on ZSJL. The talk surrounding our movement has been mostly positive as well with people understanding exactly what we're asking for in terms of licensing and also respecting that we're moving in a positive manner. I couldn't be happier with where we are right now honestly. With another trending day fast on the horizon with our March 18th event where they'll be more announcements for the future, I'm feeling very bullish about our chances as a community to continue making an impact."
What kind of charity work is the #Sell movement doing?
"I'm glad you asked. As Zack Snyder fans we all know how important suicide prevention is to him and us as well as a community. Suicide prevention is a big thing to me as well personally being a combat veteran that has lost brothers-in-arms to suicide as well as having my own personal struggles at times. So it was very important to me as well to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in a big way with this movement. Not only did Trey and Super Bro Corey over at The Bat Channel run a donation campaign on Instagram but also a Super Chat stream where all chat donations will go to AFSP as well. In addition to that we are currently running a campaign on www.inktothepeople.com/sellthesnyderverse where you can pick up a shirt or hoodie while supporting AFSP as well. We have the design in black or white and this is the first of three planned designs that will be launched from our movement, all donating to AFSP. We will continue to find ways as a community to give back to AFSP because it's not only what our fanbase is known for but it's also the right thing to do."
Why do you feel the #Sell campaign will restore the SnyderVerse?
"I believe that we'll be successful because this option make the most sense for all parties involved by a long shot. Netflix gets a sequel to a global phenomenon and engagement on a level that way have never seen before, WBD gets a bunch of money at a time when they need it and it also frees themselves from a section of the community that was going to be displeased with whatever they offered as long as Zack's story was left incomplete. They can tell their story how they want and it can be judged on it's own merits. Any grudges that were being held against the new skate of movies would probably be deemed null and void as well. People would be much more inclined to try something new if the old story is getting a proper end. And the Zack Snyder fans get what we want and have been asking for since 2017, a completion to his story. It's a win for all sides and I really don't see a way that this isn't the best option available."
Describe the experience of visiting Stone Quarry in your Superman outfit. What happened?
"I can't tell this story without the mentioning of two people, one who inspired me to do this which is a great friend of mine YouTuber Pili Swain/Mr.WestAshley843, and the other is also a great friend of mine the creator and Executive Producer of Dreamwalker Mikey Sutton. It was through a conversation with Pili about the movement and how we could boost visibility where he told me "You already live in the area, you should just go down to Stone Quarry and take a picture bro." and the wheels just started turning from there. I started looking into where the location of The Stone Quarry actually was and I started hitting a dead-end and was running out of ideas on how to find it on my own. It was then when I thought maybe I should ask Mikey if he had any knowledge on the location and I told him what I was planning it for. In true Mikey fashion, he got back to me in less than 24 hours with an address which is still shocking to me till this day. The suit was the last thing to come around as I had already had that suit from a year prior. Wearing it there didn't even dawn on me until right before I went as I was stressing over what I was going to wear. During a conversation with my younger brother discussing my outfit he put it plainly "just wear the suit". I was dumbfounded that it hadn't already dawned on me to do so. Previously I tried to arrange a photographer to come with me but it fell through shortly before the day arrived, and I still needed to get it done to hype trending day no matter what. I took an old army buddy with me to take the pictures and see the mission through. Approaching the building I was a big bundle of nerves, with black sweatpants and a hoodie covering my Superman suit. Once I got close enough to the building I took off the pants and hoodie and let the black suit and cape do it's thing in the wind. It was a very windy but bright day and we only had a few minutes of shooting before we were asked to leave so we didn't get a lot of good pictures to use. I was a little bummed about it at first but with the way that it still went viral and really touched a lot of people, the energy that moment created is undeniable and we've all felt it. That will definitely be something that we look back on and say was a very pivotal moment for the entire movement."