Zack Snyder Fuels Snyderverse Comeback Buzz — Henry Cavill Is Superman

Leave it to Zack Snyder to post one moody black-and-white Superman photo and re-ignite an entire internet timeline. The director just joined Instagram three weeks ago, and one of his first throwbacks is Henry Cavill in full cape-and-glower from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He also called Cavill his Superman, which, yeah, checks out.

Why one Instagram post has everyone back on Snyderverse watch

Fans immediately started doing the math: Snyder post + corporate drama = maybe, just maybe, the Snyderverse gets dusted off. Here is the current studio soap opera, as cleanly as I can lay it out:

• Variety says Warner Bros. Discovery shot down a bid from Paramount to acquire the company. That does not mean the suitors go away; it just means this round was a no.
• Puck reported a few weeks back that Netflix has been sniffing around the idea of buying WBD. If you are Netflix, gobbling up a deep library and DC’s crown jewels would be a swing.

If any of that ever actually happens, it cuts both ways. On one hand, a Netflix-owned WB could push a lot of top-shelf franchises to streaming instead of theaters, which would be a buzzkill for the big-screen crowd. On the other hand, Snyder has a strong thing going at Netflix right now (Rebel Moon, Army of the Dead), so if anyone would get a DC do-over under that banner, he would be near the top of the list.

There is a giant caveat though: James Gunn and Peter Safran are already building their DCU. Tossing that plan overnight would be wild. The expectation is a long, connected slate with Elseworlds off-ramps for one-off stories. Swapping that out mid-stride just because Snyder posted a Cavill photo? Probably not happening.

Side note for the number-watchers: Dawn of Justice runs a beefy 182 minutes, made $874.3M worldwide, sits at 28% on Rotten Tomatoes (63% audience), and carries a 6.4 on IMDb. Make of that what you will.

The more realistic Snyder return play

If a full-on Snyderverse revival is a long shot, there is a cleaner lane: let him adapt a DC classic as an Elseworlds. Snyder has said for years he wants to tackle Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. He has already done one deconstruction of superheroes with Watchmen, which split audiences but proved he can put a heavyweight graphic novel on screen.

'The thing about Dark Knight Returns is it is literally Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman and the deconstruction is so obvious and so palpable... When I read that book I was completely laid bare, everything I thought about superheroes. For me, it is the greatest comic book ever written. If I could do that then I will have done Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns and I would be pretty much done with superheroes.'

Also worth remembering: despite the fan wars, Snyder and Gunn are fine with each other in real life, and Gunn has been open to DC Elseworlds projects. If Snyder is going to touch DC again, a one-off Dark Knight Returns feels like the smartest bet.

So, what now?

For the moment, nothing but vibes and speculation. Snyder posted a cool Cavill photo, the business side of Hollywood is doing its usual merger dance, and the DCU under Gunn keeps moving. If you want to revisit the era that kicked all this off, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is streaming on Max in the US.

Would you actually want Snyder back in the DC sandbox, and if so, what would you hand him first?