Zack Snyder Discusses His Take on Superman and the Most Difficult Part of Telling a Superman Story

Zack Snyder introduced a very different kind of Superman in his Man of Steel movie. This was a much darker version of the character, and it was something that some fans found a little jarring at first. It was a unique version of Superman that we weren’t used to seeing.

During a recent panel at SnyderCon, the filmmaker opened up about his take on Superman and the most difficult part of telling a Superman story. That is trying to give the hero actual problems to deal with. He explained:

“My whole take on Superman is … my intention is not that Superman’s angry, it’s more that he is troubled by Earth, because Earth is problematic to him. The whole idea of Superman in its iconographic form … the potential is that he doesn’t have any problems, right? He’s a god on Earth and he can pretty much do whatever he wants and … we don’t have a lot to say about it. Which is Lex’s problem with him and … Batman’s problem with him.

“So, for Superman, the real work is to make him have problems. That’s the work of Superman — make him have, whether it be romantic issues … or whether it’s moral conundrums about what his role is as far as interfering in the lives of humans or not … and also all the stuff that we all, in some ways, experience on a small scale as just humans. That’s really the work of making a Superman movie relatable … you want to be where he is emotionally having to grapple with his own humanity.”

I liked Man of Steel, and I liked the direction that it looked like it was taking the character. Then there were Batman v Superman and Justice League, which didn’t quite hit for me. I was hoping to eventually see the inspirational version of the character. Henry Cavill, who was awesome in the role, previously shared his vision saying:

“I have a very close connection to the character. And there is something extraordinarily special about him; extraordinarily special about his capacity to give and to love. I don't mean romantically; I mean his love for Earth and for the people who live here, and to make people feel powerful – to make people feel like Superman themselves.

"I have plenty of desires for this, of course, which will be discussed more in time. But the most important thing, which I will be aiming for, is for the audience to leave the cinema and to feel like they can fly, to feel like they can protect, and to feel like they want to give to everyone else. That would be my goal."

That’s the version of Cavill’s Superman that I was waiting to see! Unfortunately, now, that’s never going to happen. It’s a shame, but I’m also curiously excited about what Gunn will deliver with Superman: Legacy. I just wish we would’ve got to see Cavill fully realized as Superman.