Zack Snyder made a few visually stunning comic book film adaptations before he was brought in to helm the DC Extended Universe. Once there, he brought a darker and more brooding tone to the DCEU, which was a stark contrast to the lighter and funnier Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though this darker superhero universe had its fan base, it never could achieve the same level of success as the MCU. And it didn’t help that there were those who were opposed to Snyder’s interpretation of these beloved characters, many of whom went against their codes or just against the source material in general.

Case in point, Batman. Then played by Ben Affleck, the DCEU’s version saw Batman kill. Something of which he has done before, whether that was freely, inadvertently, or something that could be debated. But the Dark Knight is perhaps known for his no kill policy. It is a policy that Snyder doesn’t care about. In fact, he has one thing to say to you if you don’t like his Batman killing: “Wake the fuck up.” More on the report below.

You’d think that there would be a more eloquent and nuanced answer as to why Snyder made the decision to have his Batman kill. But there isn’t really one. During a Q&A for a showing of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the director addressed all of that with absolutely no filter and plenty of vulgarity. Here’s what The Playlist was able to pull from that Q&A:

It’s actually quite funny for him to compare watching the movie for the first time to losing your v-card. But I digress. Snyder gives off the impression that no one understands superheroes like he does. Which is why we see these heroes at their worst in these dark and depressing movies. And he adds about how the current state that we live in now would shape some of these characters and how they may interpret heroism because of it:

Snyder wanted his films to touch on a lot of topical issues and ripped from the headlines scenarios while also having a superhero feel to it. And all of that bad news would weigh down our heroes. Additionally, it would also make them jaded since their efforts are literally wasted because there will be just another villain to take advantage of the broken system or fill the vacuum that has been left behind.

However, that doesn’t mean that the lights of hope shouldn’t be extinguished entirely. As we have seen recently with films – and I’ll be keeping it strictly DCEU – like Shazam, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, you can have some of those darker moments but still be bright and hopeful, and a reminder that there is still a lot of good in this world, even if a lot of what we see and hear is just bad.

[Source: The Playlist]