With the release of Aquaman 2, the DCEU has officially come to an end. There were plenty of peaks and valleys over the years, especially when Zack Snyder was at the head of the shared universe and producing his trilogy of movies. And the visionary filmmaker recently addressed ongoing backlash to his choices, including having Batman capable of murder in Dawn of Justice (which can be streamed with a Max subscription). Let's break it all down.
Moviegoers are curious about the upcoming DC movies that are coming with the new universe, especially the first chapter Gods and Monsters. But other fans are still looking backward, and taking umbrage with Snyder's creative choices for his trilogy. He recently appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience, where he addressed backlash to how he handled Batman's character, and ignoring the hero's no killing rule. In his words:
They go like ‘well don't put him in a situation where he has to kill someone.’ I'm like, well, that's just like you're protecting your god in a weird way, right? You're making your god irrelevant if he can't be in that situation. He now has to deal with that. You know, if he does do that, what does that mean? What does it tell you if- does he stand up to it? Can he survive that as your god? Can Batman survive that?
There you have it. As Snyder explained, he was influenced by comic book projects like Watchmen, which offer a more bleak and human approach as superheroes. Rather than obeying the rule that Batman doesn't kill, he wanted to confront what would happen if the Dark Knight abandoned those principals... especially while becoming transfixed with Superman. And just like that, Dawn of Justice was born.
Reviews for Batman v Superman were mixed, although it's gotten more love over the years... especially after the theatrical cut of Justice League was released. Some have come to defend Snyder, even compiling a video of everytime Batman has killed onscreen.
I personally enjoyed Batman v Superman, and loved seeing Ben Affleck's jaded and battleworn version of The Dark Knight. In fact, when I thought when he returned for Justice League (both versions) he was missing some of that spark. But I suppose that was the point; he learned his lesson and had found new hope at the ending of Batman v Superman.
With the DCEU officially in the rear view, it should be fascinating to see how James Gunn's versions of characters differs from what we've seen. Batman will presumably join the new shared universe in The Brave and The Bold, which will focus on his relationship with his son Damian Wayne aka Robin.
The DCU will start with Superman: Legacy on July 11th, 2025. In the meantime, check the 2024 movie release dates.
