Zack Snyder's Justice League was finally released in 2021 on the Max streaming service, with the hope being (among studio execs, at least) that its debut would bring an end to the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement. Well, it did, only for the movie to birth the #RestoreTheSnyderVerse hashtag instead!
That was largely down to fans wanting more, something which can perhaps be blamed on Snyder throwing so many sequel teases into his four-hour director's cut.
While there are plenty of people who still take the Snyder Cut incredibly seriously, it's been confirmed on multiple occasions that the Snyderverse is dead. Many have also started using the furore surrounding Justice League as a basis for jokes and, among them, was Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's Barbie movie.
When the Barbies wake up after being brainwashed by the Kens, one says, "It’s like I’ve been in a dream where I was really invested in the Zack Snyder Cut of Justice League."
Men's Health recently asked Snyder for his thoughts on that punchline and there are no sour grapes on the Rebel Moon helmer's end. "They gave us a heads-up," he revealed, referring to Warner Bros.' new CEO, Michael DeLuca. "And he said, 'Hey, there’s a reference to Justice League in the movie. It’s cool and whatever, I hope you guys understand, we think it’s awesome.'"
"I thought [Barbie] was great, and I think the joke is pretty good," he added before acknowledging the joke was more about the fandom than it was his work.
"The thing that I said to Debbie is - the thing that you need to take a second and think about is that your name is so seamlessly sewed together with a pop-culture phenomenon so big it can exist as a joke in a movie about Barbie. That’s pretty insane," Snyder adds. "You just need to step back for a second and go like, 'Whoa, what did we do? What happened? How is that a thing?'"
During the same interview, he was once again asked about the toxic side of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut fandom and justified his decision to not implore them to stop the trolling and death threats.
"I felt like my relationship with the fans is really one-way," he says. "I give, I deliver, and I share with them ideas that I have. I am 100 percent against anyone threatening and doing anything to bully. That’s not cool, but that’s also obvious."
Let us know your thoughts on these comments from Snyder in the usual place.