Do it For Zack Snyder by Ishaan Sangha

In summer 2013, we witnessed something magical. One year after the end of the amazing Dark Knight trilogy, we were brought to the reimagination of Superman by director Zack Snyder. I was younger then, and thought nothing of it. “I would rather watch Iron-Man 3” I probably said back then. Then one day I was bored, so I started looking for films to watch, and my eyes glanced over at Man of Steel. I put it up for download and impatiently waited. After the download was complete, I sat there and spent probably the best 2 hours and 23 minutes of my life.

I never loved Superman. I watched Superman III as a child and thought it was an ok film. I never watched Superman: The Movie or Superman II. I even didn’t watch many Batman movies. The first time I watched The Dark Knight was about 2012. I was grown up with Marvel surrounding me, I grew up watching films such as the original Sam Rami Spider-Man, and watched cartoons like Spider-Man: The Animated Series. I did watch some DC cartoons though like Batman the Animated Series and Batman Beyond. But when I first watched Man of Steel, something clicked in me. I suddenly LOVED Superman. The original score by Hans Zimmer, the cinematography by Amir Mokri, the writing from David S. Goyer, the producing from Christopher Nolan, and most importantly the direction from Zack Snyder is what enticed me.

I stuck with Man of Steel as my favorite comic book film to this day. It is so relatable on a deep level to me. I always thought “Superman is OP and unrelatable” when I first saw Henry Cavill’s Kal-El I loved him because of his flaws, and imperfections. I loved him because I saw how he isn’t always this perfect person… like me. I always stood waiting for the day I would get an announcement for Man of Steel 2. I luckily didn’t have to wait much longer. A couple months later at SDCC Zack Snyder unveiled the sequel to Man of Steel, a Batman/Superman film. I still remember my reaction to this day watching that footage online, with no description except “SDCC 2013 MAN OF STEEL”

The upcoming years were the best. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was slowly confirmed as the title for this project, and Ben Affleck was cast as Batman. As skeptical as I was, I never saw how much of a good actor this man was. He was the best Batman portrayal I have ever seen. I remember the day Mr. Snyder posted the official trailer release date on his twitter, I was yelling up and down the house! The day that the trailer came I was in awe. I knew this would be a totally different movie, and from that day on I never doubted Ben Affleck as Batman.

When Batman v Superman finally was released I was beyond excited. 3 years of waiting to this. I was in line to get popcorn, and stood there shaking. I entered the theater and enjoyed every single second I spent there. Batman v Superman was one of the best films I had ever watched. So many aspects were beautifully executed by Zack Snyder. I left hyped for the next film JUSTICE LEAGUE!

I supported Justice League heavily. I was incredibly excited for this film. I was again hyped by the SDCC 2016 first look. I had to wait until March 2017 to get another couple minutes of footage to feast my eyes upon. May 22 2017. I was entering my dentist office and had time to spare, so in the parking lot I opened my Instagram. To my shock I saw one of the most sad stories I had heard of that year. My friend Aqeel Hawaj posted a story of Autumn Snyder’s suicide. I almost broke down. I kept scrolling thinking nothing bad possibly could have ensued further. I scroll and see another post of Zack Snyder stepping down from Justice League and Joss Whedon to take his place.  I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the state of the film. But I reassured myself that Snyder needed this time and hoped for the best onto this situation.

June came along and another piece of bad news hit the internet that Junkie XL was replaced from Justice League and that Danny Elfman would take control. Again, I became worried but hoped for the best. These next months were the hardest. Media was going crazy about Justice League and how “it was a mess”. I refused to listen. November 17 rolled around and my twitter was filled with sadness. People were saying a lot of things about Justice League being “ruined and butchered”. These were coming from my good friends so immediately I was on panic mode. November 18, 2017 I watched Justice League in IMAX. I was disappointed in the final product. 100% I will not blame Mr. Snyder for any of these issues, due to this project being taken away from him in late May. I was saddened by the amount of cut and reshot scenes. The score of the film was off putting and CGI felt rushed, especially a very special someones lip. I could pinpoint what was Snyder and what was Whedon/WBs. I advice you WB, release the Snyder Cut. This film is something your core fanbase wants. Love it or not we were here, and we supported you for 4 years through negative press and negative critical rating. We want you not only do this for us, but do this for Zack Snyder.

In summer 2013 Zack Snyder brought us Man of Steel and it was supposed to completing this Superman’s arc in fall 2017. We were never given the completion of this character and story arc. So I plead to you Warner Brothers! Release the Snyder Cut! Not just for us, but for the man that gave your company over one billion dollars by releasing two masterpieces of film and us, the fans that might just be the best fans of all time.

 

Ishaan Sangha

January 16 2018