Sell SnyderVerse to Netflix?

[The Laughing Fish]

Despite all the chaos going on at DC, Snyderverse fans haven't given up and are now petitioning to get that universe licensed out to Netflix, starting with a new social media trending event on Tuesday 14th of February. Snyder himself has gone on VERO liking half a dozen posts supporting the idea.



https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-snyder-approved-beloved-director-zack-snyder-adds-to-the-flame-for-getting-snyder-verse-to-netflix-and-ditch-dceu/

Curiously, the creepy jackass James Gunn tried to dismiss the movement on social media today:

I have to say, this has got to be the wackiest hashtag ever since 1) Netflix hasn't expressed any such interest (although we've discussed other stuff) & 2) Zack hasn't expressed any interest & seems to be happy doing what he's doing (and, yes, we too have talked).

https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1623783726529515520

Gunn's clearly lying about Snyder not expressing interest, as you can tell by the screenshot attached. Never mind the fact he made sure to finish ZSJL on a cliffhanger, because he clearly wanted to do more.

Having followed his VERO account over the years, Snyder loves to hint to get fans hyped and encourage support for his DC stuff. ZSJL's release is a testament to that. He would've been sincere if he thought any sort of DC revival was a futile effort instead of liking posts on social media and encourage fans to demand for it, such as the time when he post the hashtag #untilitwasnt while hinting cancelled plans for the JL sequel four years ago. Yes, Snyder is happy at Netflix since they treat him very well, but going by his online activity and comments post-ZSJL, he'd still love to finish his DC arc if given the chance.

I find it rather odd that Gunn reacted on the day it was announced a live action TV series adapatation of Spider-Man: Noir is under development at Amazon. Kinda gives off the impression that licensing other character portrayals to other streaming services is actually possible. If he is so secure about this new DC slate, then why the hell does he care about a so-called "minority" call for an alternative?

Anyway, Gunn tweeted this:

He contacted me to express his support about my choices. He's a great guy. Again, he seems really happy with the massive world building he's doing now.

https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1623785325725356032

Considering Snyder recorded a video message congratulating Cavill for his short-lived Superman comeback and expressed to working with him again in the near future, I strongly doubt Snyder would've been very happy about the news that Cavill got kicked out by Gunn and Safran, as well as their decision to undergo a reboot in such a lousy way.

Gunn has a track record of lying, from saying he has no interest in writing Superman to writing a script, from saying he doesn't want the DC CEO job to taking a partnership with Safran. Even going so far by saying TSS broke trailer viewership records without backing that claim up with any data. So, unless Snyder himself suddenly confirms this is all true, excuse me if I suspect Gunn is bullsh*tting. 

As for whether or not I think #SellSnyderVerseToNetflix will happen? As much as I hope for it to happen, I honestly think it's unlikely. Yes, WBD would do themselves a huge favour by licensing it out to ease their heavy debts, but I have no confidence after destroying their credibility by hiring Gunn and Safran in the top roles, and the whole shocking PR mess that erupted since. There might be other factors we're not privy about, i.e. potential broken relationships after the Miller and Heard situations, possible interference by DC Studios etc. We've seen how egos are out of control at Warners.

I'll never discourage any fan to show their support for Snyderverse on Netflix. I am, however, going to keep my expectations low.

[The Joker]

While WBD licensing out the Snyderverse, theoretically, wouldn't be unheard of (since we have Sony licensing out Spider-Man stuff like "Silk: Spider Society", and more recently "Spider-Man Noir" to Amazon), I agree the expectation should remain very low.

The major hurdle, would be how costly such a endeavor would ultimately rack up. Cavill, Affleck, Gadot ... the fees for those three alone would be fairly substantial. Snyder would probably happily take a pay cut due to his obvious passion for the material, but such a proposal, considering the story line set up, would really have to be a spectacle, and the cost may very well be just too much for the reward. Or to paraphrase "The Girl Next Door", the juice may not be worth the squeeze.

If history has proven anything, the current situation with Warners and the direction of DC cinematic properties will continue to be fluid as ever. The box office crap shoot will persist, and the second-guessing of Gunn will cultivate. Unfortunately, time continues to push forward, and due to many circumstances, the possibility of a licensing deal becomes very increasingly remote.

[The Laughing Fish]

The major hurdle, would be how costly such a endeavor would ultimately rack up. Cavill, Affleck, Gadot ... the fees for those three alone would be fairly substantial. Snyder would probably happily take a pay cut due to his obvious passion for the material, but such a proposal, considering the story line set up, would really have to be a spectacle, and the cost may very well be just too much for the reward. Or to paraphrase "The Girl Next Door", the juice may not be worth the squeeze.

The only glimmer of hope concerning cost is Netflix may be willing to fork out the cash to buy out projects. It was reported they paid $450 million for the Knives Out sequels.
https://www.engadget.com/knives-out-netflix-215245594.html

The problem, however, is the contracts with the other actors who are moving into this DCU reboot mess. Gunn and Safran have denied that Jason Momoa is becoming Lobo and is staying on as Aquaman. If, say, Netflix wants to negotiate a Snyderverse deal, I can see those two dickheads in charge of DC Studios being very difficult to deal with, but God forbid something else might compete with their "vision".

All I can say is: Snyderverse fans will need to continue supporting Zack's Netflix projects, such as the Army of the Dead franchise and Rebel Moon, if they want to get some leverage. Seeing as both Army of the Dead and Army of Thieves listed among Netflix's top five films of 2021, I have no doubt Rebel Moon will see similar success.

[The Laughing Fish]

If you can excuse the AI for a moment...

[The Laughing Fish]

Netflix CEO Scott Stuber acknowledged the Sell Snyderverse movement in an interview, but admitted it's tricky to produce IP that you don't own. He has expressed his eagerness to keep Snyder at Netflix as long as possible, saying "the more Zack we have, the better".

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/zack-snyder-regains-rights-to-300-spinoff-1235705412/

At this point, I'm just eager to focus on Rebel Moon. That excites me way more than anything DC has been putting out.

[The Laughing Fish]

Curiously, the creepy jackass James Gunn tried to dismiss the movement on social media today:

I have to say, this has got to be the wackiest hashtag ever since 1) Netflix hasn't expressed any such interest (although we've discussed other stuff) & 2) Zack hasn't expressed any interest & seems to be happy doing what he's doing (and, yes, we too have talked).

https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1623783726529515520

Zack Snyder has pretty much said Gunn is a bullsh*tting liar (big surprise!), going by today's comments:

"If Netflix had owned the rights to the DC characters in my universe, absolutely," Snyder said about bringing Batman and his super friends to the streaming platform. "Yeah, no question about it," he added.

https://www.joblo.com/zack-snyder-snyderverse-netflix/

This isn't the first time he'd expressed his interest, by the way. He more than implied it at the Full Circle event earlier this year, as well as liking social media posts supporting the idea.

Whether this DC Snyderverse Netflix happens or not, I think the glaring issue is Gunn has proved from time and time again that he is a liar. Lying about Ben Affleck's desire to direct a DCU film, lying about Snyder not being open to the hypothetical idea of finishing his DC arc on Netflix. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before he casts someone else as Wonder Woman and breaks his promise to Gal Gadot.

Great spokesman for DC, right? 

[The Laughing Fish]

Weeks after David Ayer suddenly changed his tune and declared any hope for WBD to release his cut of Suicide Squad is dead, he was caught reposting and liking an opinion piece from Forbes last year explaining why this Snyderverse Netflix campaign is a good idea.





As much as I'd like for this to happen and have that Suicide Squad cut come out on Netflix too, I'm becoming even more doubtful this would happen. I've already explained my reasons, but another thought had occurred to me: the distribution rights to release on home media make matters even more messy.

You only have to look at the Netflix Marvel shows that got released on physical media, and you will realise Daredevil Season Three, Defenders, The Punisher, and everything after the first seasons of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones were never made available on DVD and Blu-Ray either. I believe this is because Disney getting the rights to those characters back prohibits the remainder of those shows on home media.

Another problem is Disney has begun a crusade to cease production of physical media, which has drawn a lot of consumer backlash. Knowing how notorious Warners are with how they treat their IP, I can easily see them following that trend, thus Netflix have less of an incentive to license and co-produce anything from a brand like DC in the near future.