‘Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice’ Producer Deborah Snyder Discusses DC Extended Universe, How ‘Justice League’ Will Be Different

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hit theaters this week to extremely mixed reviews. For the most part, audiences seem to be enjoying it, giving the Zack Snyder film an average rating of 3.9/5 on Rotten Tomatoes. However, top critics are absolutely crushing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to the tune of a 26 percent score on the Tomatometer. To put that in perspective, Ben Affleck’s first foray into the superhero genre, Daredevil, scored 44 percent. Snyder’s 2013 Man of Steel scored 56 percent.

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice smothers a potentially powerful story — and some of America’s most iconic superheroes — in a grim whirlwind of effects-driven action,” reads the site’s Critics Consensus.

For the time being, plans call for Zack Snyder to return to the DC Universe to direct 2017’s Justice League: Part One. His wife, Deborah Snyder, who has served as a producer on many of her husband’s films, including Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, told IGN this week that the new film won’t be nearly as dark.

“Justice League is a little bit lighter because some of these characters, you have Flash, tend to be a little more comedic I’d say. One of the things that lightens it is having The Flash or having characters that are more optimistic. This movie (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) is in particular is two characters who are in a crisis of conscience which sort of draws them together.”

Certainly making the rounds during premiere week, Deborah Snyder also spoke with Collider on how Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice differs from the rest of the upcoming films in the DC Extended Universe.

“They’re so different from each other.” [David Ayer] has created this really fun movie about bad guys trying to do good [with Suicide Squad], and it’s brazen, and it has just a really great tone to it, so it’s really fun. And it’s so different from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and it’s completely different from what Patty Jenkins is doing with Wonder Woman. With Wonder Woman, it’s an origin story, it takes place also in World War I, so as you can imagine you’re kind of in a completely different world. And even just the color palette and everything of the films are so different from one another. And I think that’s what’s so great about having these directors come on board who have a very strong vision and point of view for these character and these stories and they can really make it their own, so that’s pretty cool.”

Snyder continued by giving updates on how the upcoming films are progressing.

“So Suicide Squad is in post and that comes out later this summer, and Wonder Woman we just finished most of the bulk of principal photography in London. They’re taking a two-week hiatus so Gal Gadot can come and do press, and then we go back and shoot the Themiscyra sections in Italy, and then come back for some pickups in London, just some green screen and some tank work, and things like that. We start Justice League April 11th and that is at Leavesden, mostly on stage and some locations around there as well as Iceland and I think a beat in Scotland at the end of the schedule. And we are working with James Wan on the development of the Aquaman script right now, and I’m hoping that sometime first quarter of next year we’ll be in production on that movie as well as working on the script for Flash. So it’s a little busy.”

If the negativity surrounding Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice continues, perhaps something different is just what the DC Universe needs.

[Photo by Keith Tsuji/Getty Images]