We’re not sure if you’ve heard, but Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a somewhat divisive film. While lots of fans liked the film, and a metric zebraload of them went to see the movie over the weekend, critics have panned the film hard and lots of fans are equally upset. However, regardless of the film’s critical appeal, or even its overall box office success, the DC cinematic universe is a thing that’s happening, and Zack Snyder is in charge of that show. That is apparently something that many fans feel is one step too far. There have been not simply one, but two petitions started on Change.org to request the removal of Zack Snyder from the franchise.
One petition is based in the United States and specifically requests that another director be found to handle the Justice League movie. This petition seems to be focused on the idea that regardless of your overall feeling toward Man of Steel or Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, that it would be better to have a director who does not divide the fans quite so divisively. It claims that the building blocks are there to make a great film, simply that Snyder is not the one to do it. This petition is close to hitting its 500 signature goal as of this writing.
The second petition is based out of India and actually requests that Zack Snyder be removed from the DCEU entirely by Warner Brothers. This petition makes a point to compliment Snyder’s ability to create stunning visuals but does so as a counterpoint toward its view that he "cannot tell a story." This petition is currently sitting at just short of 230 signatures as of writing.
The most interesting about each of these petitions is that they were both started six days ago, meaning both began prior to the actual release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Having said that, each appears to have received most of their support over the last couple of days, meaning that while the petition creators may have had an ax to grind, those signing it may be doing so due to an honest feeling after seeing the most recent movie. The other problem, of course, is that there’s really no way Warner Brothers would pull Zack Snyder off of Justice League right now. Even if they were inclined to do so, the execs at WB are all currently swimming through cash Scrooge McDuck style thanks to one of the biggest opening weekends in history. In addition, Justice League: Part One is set to begin filming in just over a week. Pulling Snyder off now would bring that film to a crashing halt and force a rescheduling of the entire DCEU, which would kill whatever momentum Dawn of Justice actually has created for itself.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has done one thing remarkably well, without question. Whatever people thought of it, we’re all still talking about and very invested in our feelings about it, as is made clear by those starting petitions about it. In the end, everybody seems to care about these movies, which is probably good news for their long-term success.
