Zack Snyder Would Still Direct THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS Even Though He “Stole or Borrowed” From the Comic
We all watched Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and thought that it felt a lot like Frank Miller, and Zack Snyder is owning the fact that he did “steal or borrow” from The Dark Knight Returns.
During a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Batman v Superman, Snyder opened up about his love for The Dark Knight Returns and revealed that he’d still jump at the chance to adapt it properly for the big screen.
“I'll be 100% honest – I would still make The Dark Knight Returns as a film if that opportunity arose,” Snyder said.
That’s a pretty wild thought considering how much of Frank Miller’s 1986 comic already found its way into his DC movies. The gritty tone, the older, battle-hardened Bruce Wayne, even the armored Batman vs. Superman showdown. The DNA of The Dark Knight Returns runs deep through Snyder’s DC work.
And he admits it.
“Yes, did I steal or borrow or homage as much as I could within the context of the mythology that I was creating? Yes. But the thing about The Dark Knight Returns is that it is a closed loop of awesomeness that owes nothing to anything, except for a masterful deconstruction of gods that we all grew up with,” he explained.
That “deconstruction of gods” is something Snyder clearly gravitated toward when building the DC Extended Universe. For him, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice wasn’t just a superhero crossover. It was personal.
“BVS is for me, you know, damn, damn what the world would think. I was bound and determined to challenge my gods and find out if they could handle it.”
That mindset makes sense when you look at how he portrayed both Batman and Superman. These weren’t shiny, untouched icons. They were bruised, conflicted, and pushed to their limits. It wasn’t about safe choices. It was about testing the mythology.
Snyder also talked about the first time he encountered Miller’s comic, and it clearly left a mark. He described being on a “quest to find the thing that would spark my imagination,” at a time when DC comics were going through a big shift.
“We were pretty much in the Dark Knight, Watchmen era [which] had really struck pop culture and I guess the comic book community more specifically of course,” he said.
“I feel like The Dark Knight Returns is like someone wrote your myth, and that was amazing. You have this seminal comic book that really profoundly affects you, but with no way of expressing it.
“At that point of my life, there was no Batman fighting Superman movie that you could possibly, in my wildest dreams, could be a reality.”
Fast forward a few decades, and that “wildest dreams” scenario became real. Snyder went on to help shape the now-defunct DC Extended Universe with Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League before DC Studios shifted gears under James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Even with that chapter closed, it’s interesting to hear Snyder still talk about The Dark Knight Returns like unfinished business. Sure, he pulled heavily from it. But to him, the comic stands on its own as something bigger, something that still deserves a pure, uncompromised film adaptation.
Whether that opportunity ever comes is another question. DC is heading in a new direction, and Snyder’s era has officially wrapped. Still, for fans of his style and Miller’s mythic take on Batman, the idea of Snyder tackling The Dark Knight Returns as a standalone film is something a lot of them would love to see.