Following the recent Rebel Moon, which just got its director cut’s release today, Zack Snyder sat down with us to talk about his future plans for his career as a filmmaker. He also shares personal opinions such as his favorite scene he’s ever done and his favorite film of 2024 so far. Read the full interview below.
THH: You’ve had a really busy few years. You’ve done Justice League, Army of the Dead, you’ve produced Army of Thieves, which apparently has a sequel coming sometime soon? And then you’ve done four separate cuts of Rebel Moon. With all this, what is your approach to avoiding creative burnout, especially since you’ve also now become your own DOP (cinematographer)?
ZACK: That’s a good question, you know, the truth is that there’s a cadence between the films that has been pretty luxurious for me, I’m very sort of aggressive with production and I love shooting and I like to be working as much as possible. So for me, the idea of not working is more difficult. I think that I get energized by the work. And so in that way, I think I’ve been able to be sort of empowered and then kind of like made more creative by what I would say is this intense cadence of production that we’ve been in.
THH: Larry Fong has been heaping a lot of praise upon you recently. Is there anything he’s said to you or you’ve taken from experiences working with him that helps you with your own cinematography?
ZACK: Larry has been a constant inspiration for me over my entire life. I’ve known him my entire creative life. He and I went to film school together and I’ve known him since probably the late 1980s. We did our Super 8 films together at school and everything. And so I’ve been a student, his student, and he always inspires me with his natural and incredibly creative eye and he has an ability to manage production and all these things that I’ve learned from him. He has like always been a constant source of inspiration and with helping me understand how to as well as being creative. With DOP, it’s not just walk in and light it, there’s a whole other part of the job which entails understanding the equipment. How to keep all of that stuff in order and it’s a pretty demanding aspect that he’s always been so good at.
THH: Do you think you’ll work together again someday?
ZACK: Yeah, absolutely. I would love to work with him again. I was just over at his house the other day. We had a little hot dog party and we were all over there hanging out. He’s just a great friend.
THH: How do you approach character defining moments? (Think: Superman destroying the world engine, Faith Alfred Faith, Jimmy joining the fight in Rebel Moon)
ZACK: I’ve always a fan of when a character is underestimated, or faces that challenge where they become that sort of underdog story, that underdog moment. Where you as the viewer kind of know your guy can do it, but you get that wish fulfillment of having him be underestimated by everybody else first. And I think that that is always like super satisfying when your character then reaches their sort of the pinnacle or the potential that you know they have. I think that’s always a fantastic feeling.
THH: You spoke on the Reel Podcast with Sean O’Connell and Jake Hamilton a few days ago that you made Rebel Moon with streaming in mind and you didn’t really think too much about it going theatrical. So how did you go about making Rebel Moon with that streaming experience for the viewer in mind, as opposed to how you would have Batman v Superman, for example, as a theatrical one?
ZACK: With Batman v Superman, which I know, obviously was going to be presented in what I would call the most intense theatrical sort of presentation, that being the combination of like anamorphic and IMAX jumping between aspect ratios and shooting in IMAX and then shooting in 35mm and just the way we shot in like all the giant formats. It was very specifically. I knew the aspect ratio changes would be like a massive sort of ceiling coming over you when you saw it in IMAX and all that. So there is that part of it that was designed in that way.
When making Rebel Moon, it was more about doing a big anamorphic movie that I knew would have a cinematic feeling. Knowing that you don’t have this big sort of theatrical format to work with, I just really focused on, as much as I could, delivering what I would say is sort of cinematically classic. A classic approach and to not really be too distracted by you know some sort of format changes or things like that but really sort of focusing on trying to deliver each image but also in the largest sort of cinematic language that I could give you the opportunity in your home viewing experience to emulate in as much as possible that sort of cinematic experience you know that I tried not to diminish in any way.
THH: Going forward with Rebel Moon we’ve got a Nemesis comics (spin-off) in the works, the ongoing podcast A Chapter Three is in development but also a Kali animated movie, How is the animated Kali based movie coming along? Could we expect that this year in the winter, maybe? Or is that be more of a 2025 release?
ZACK: Yes, I think it’d be probably more 2025. We’re still sort of in prep. We’re doing a lot of creative meetings with the animation team for that. There’s really a lot of beautiful artwork and stuff that we’re generating right now. At the end of the summer here, we’re supposed to put all our creative stuff together and see how we’re doing. (Zack also mentioned the mobile Rebel Moon game, saying it is incredible & he’s very excited. It is releasing soon)
THH: We know Turki Alalshikh wants you to do a UFC movie. Is that something that’s in development?
ZACK: That is definitely something I’m very interested in pursuing and tracking down. Yes. And I think that that could be a great opportunity. It’d be a great canvas to work with. That could be a great, could be a really cool place to start. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, I’m very interested in that as a possibility. But I don’t know if that’s the small movie to be honest. (Which will be his next film though details aren’t known what that is yet)
THH: You and Warner Brothers are a reteaming for 300! There was a lot of people, myself included, really surprised at that. How has that been for you working with them again? Did they approach you or did you approach them?
ZACK: We’ve been talking about doing this 300 show and the great news is that because Warner Brothers was our studio that we did the movie with, they’re the first people that we would approach in regard to making the series and they were just receptive and into it. So it’s been a really nice and organic, I love Warner Brothers, you know, honestly as a studio, I love the logo. I love the pedigree. I spent 10 years there, so I have a great affection for the place. So, yeah, it could be cool.
When asked about a possible update on Sucker Punch’s true directors cut, Zack unfortunately had no update or news to share right now but he said he would love to do it.
We had over 100 Fan-Submitted questions, here they come in short/long form answers:
THH: What was your favorite scene to shoot on Rebel Moon?
ZACK: Kora fighting the guys in the barn, killing all the Imperial guys in the barn. That felt old school. It was like old school fighting and shooting and really just going, you know, shot to shot and really telling that story was really fun. And I can’t wait for you to see the R-rated version of it.
THH: There was a comic book tie-in, you were possibly gonna do with Scott Snyder for Justice League? Are you able to say anything about what that was about?
ZACK: Yeah, I mean, the truth is we were just talking about like, wouldn’t it be cool to do something together, you know? Scott’s just been a great inspiration for us in the movies. And I think he’s a really great artist. Truth is, I’ve been so busy on Rebel Moon that I haven’t really had a chance to.
THH: Is it still a possibility in any way?
ZACK: I never say never to anything. I would never say that there’s no chance, I just honestly haven’t had a chance to timing-wise, to think about it.
THH: What is your favourite scene of your entire filmography?
ZACK: I would say one of my favorite sequences is the birth of Dr Manhattan, that is probably one of my favorite sequences in my movies.
THH: Do you have a favorite movie or TV show from this year so far?
ZACK: I loved Love Lies Bleeding, the A24 movie, I really loved that, I thought it was great.
THH: Have you seen the new Superman suit? There’s a lot of people comparing it to Henry Cavill’s and a lot of people wanting to know your thoughts. Do you really have anything to say about it?
ZACK: I’m gonna say that: let’s see it in the movie. I’m interested to see how it works, you know, as a piece of storytelling. Yeah. But I am excited. I’m excited to see it.
THH: To talk Planet of the Dead, The first movie (Army Of The Dead) mixed the heist genre with zombies. Do you have in mind what the second movie would mix a genre with?
ZACK: Yes! It’s like a quest film and a journey to another world movie. It’s kind of like a Planet Of The Apes movie more, I would say (than the first).
THH: Is there something you’re most proud of this year, whether it’s work-related or not, that you’ve personally had the opportunity to do or you’ve just felt really accomplished with?
ZACK: For me, look, I’m super proud of the director’s cuts that are coming out. I really love them because it’s the movies I wanted & intended to make from the beginning. And I love the PG-13, but also in some ways, PG-13 was what allowed the R-rated movie to exist. And for that reason, I love them. But…When you see the R rated versions of the movie, you’re gonna really understand it’s a true heavy metal magazine thing come to life.
And I just think that that’s really fun. And it’s kind of a thing you haven’t seen, I don’t think so in that I think when you see the director’s cut, it is much more of a very unique experience. The problem is with the PG-13 cuts is because the over the topness is kind of taking out a little bit. The movie ends up being a lot more earnest, you know, because there’s less parody, it’s less a comment because It’s cut down in a lot of ways, isn’t it? It’s so straightforward. And I think the thing that you get from the from the R-rated versions is much more fun. And so the fun, for me it’s more fun because it’s more over the top. And the over the top aspect of it allows you a much more understanding of the parody, you can understand the sort of commentary on genre, on the tropes of the genre that just come a lot clearer. I would say that’s the thing that I’m most proud of that we’ve done in the last year. Also, you know, it’s just a huge undertaking to make four movies at once. It’s hard it is to make four movies. And like, because it really truly was four movies, you know, like people were like, okay, well, you know, you made, it’s just the director’s cut. I’m like, well, it’s not. It’s literally a different experience entirely. It’s just an incredibly hard thing to do.
The Rebel Moon director’s cut for Part 1 and Part 2 are now available on Netflix.
