Opinion: Movement to house the Snyderverse on Netflix a dumb idea
January 31, 2023
On Feb. 14, director Zack Snyder’s most loyal fans will rally together to #SellSnyderVerseToNetflix on Twitter.
The SnyderVerse is fans’ name for the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The DCEU is the live-action DC universe featuring hit films like “Man of Steel” and “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” (BvS), the latter of which is the last theatrical DCEU film entirely directed by Zack Snyder.
After years of teases and begging from fans for his full artistic vision, Zack Snyder’s Justice League (ZSJL) was released on HBO Max in 2021. Fans have been creating hashtags with tens of millions of tweets begging Warner Bros to allow Zack Snyder to continue his universe.
Most recently, fans have been begging Warner Bros to sell the SnyderVerse over to Netflix. This idea makes no sense for a variety of reasons.
The biggest issue is one of Intellectual Property (IP). Some examples of IP include trademarks, copyrights and patents, which the characters of DC Comics definitely fall under.
Warner Bros is currently in the process of rebooting their DC film universe, so it would make no sense for them to sell what is essentially a competing DC film universe using many of the same characters to Netflix.
The other major issue is finances. This deal also makes no sense on the Netflix side as they’d be shelling hundreds of millions of dollars for movies that they would not sell theatrically and likely wouldn’t drive enough new subscribers for it to be a worthwhile investment.
Despite gaining a cult following, these films have failed to do well, both critically and at the box office. With an estimated $260 million budget, Deadline estimates that BvS made Warner Bros a net profit of $100 million with a 44/100 average on Metacritic. Even the crowning jewel of this universe, ZSJL, only has a 54/100 on Metacritic and The Numbers reports an estimated $16 million from domestic video sales from a $70 million budget on top of the $300 million spent on the original Justice League.
Overall, as much as I support creative freedom, any company attempting to buy this critically and commercially failing franchise would be one of the worst decisions they could make.
