There's One Way For Zack Snyder To Make A Comeback: Team Up With Taylor Sheridan

There was a time when debating whether Zack Snyder's latest film was good sparked enough heat to revive a dead Kryptonian. But the evidence is as clear as a CGI sunset over a cornfield that those conversations aren't happening to the same degree anymore. After his "Army of the Dead" franchise flopped, Snyder was given another chance with "Rebel Moon" on Netflix, which became a prime example of everything his devoted fans loved, but anyone outside the group couldn't stomach. Critically, both chapters — "A Child of Fire" and "The Scargiver" – earned 22% and 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively. The R-rated Extended Cuts of both films received slightly better reviews (though still not great), but this wasn't enough to draw back audiences, as neither entry earned enough viewing figures to enter the streamer's Top 10. 

It's clear that something needs to change, and Snyder might already be aware of this, given that he has two projects in the pipeline that don't have a Caped Crusader or an alien warlord in sight. One is MMA movie called "Brawler," while the other is an action-packed story set in the LAPD. Regardless of these potential projects, though, might now be the time for Snyder to travel to someone else's universe? Well, drawing from our "so wild it just might work" ideas, we can think of no better partnership to turn Hollywood on its head than putting Zack Snyder in a room with Taylor Sheridan and seeing what happens. 

Putting aside his love for gods and monsters, the best route for Snyder to take in the future might be to return to Earth and engage with old-fashioned heroes — the stoic, gruff sort who follow unwritten rules to do good and brood about it for ages after they've enforced them. These are the types with whom Snyder connected so well in the likes of "300," "Watchmen," and even parts of the DCEU. It's also the sort of characters that populate Taylor Sheridan's stories that are set way out West, which is a spot of land Snyder himself briefly considered visiting in his own way.

In 2021, Snyder was set on taking the legend of King Arthur and placing it out into the Wild West (via CBR). Fantastical worlds like this might be ones Snyder loves to play around in; the problem is, he doesn't perform very well when he's in them. Sheridan, on the other hand, has pursued straight-laced western stories across different eras and achieved hits every time.

We're not asking Sheridan to consider handing over the keys to the "Yellowstone" Dutton ranch, but rather allow Snyder to tackle the grittier, more action-packed corners of the universes that Paramount's poster boy has built. Perhaps something similar to "1883," where warring factions and harsh terrain present the kind of nightmares heroes must face. If that's not a good fit, there's also a forgotten Sheridan-penned story that sounds like it was pulled directly from Zack Snyder's brain involving secret agents and Greek gods that hasn't been touched in over a decade.

While Zack Snyder may be struggling to keep a world of his own spinning, Taylor Sheridan's only seem to be getting bigger. With five "Yellowstone" spin-offs in production, and ongoing seasons of "Landman" and "Tulsa King," the writer/director's deal with Paramount is proving to be a highly successful investment. Beneath all these significant items on the itinerary, however, there's the overlooked proposed TV show "Olympus" that seems perfectly suited for Snyder.

Co-created by Peter Berg, who was initially set to direct, "Olympus" follows a soldier-turned-spy who discovers he's the last remaining descendant of Greek gods and humanity's last hope. There's been no further progress made on the venture, which, as reported by Deadline, was quickly snatched up by Fox back in 2012 and has remained dormant ever since. This forgotten tale of modern-day heroes with a mythical twist could be the ideal tale for Snyder to explore and serve as the perfect litmus test for him to gauge interest in a Sheridan-made world.

This isn't some wild idea that's dunking on Snyder, either. We want the director's visual flair to find a home, just in a better domain than where it's been recently, and pairing these two could establish another Hollywood double-act for the ages. Scorsese had Schrader, Spielberg had Koepp, and the Coens had each other. Perhaps a director who has worked better off someone else's page and a writer whose best work has been in someone else's hands could find a creative kinship and create an action-packed world of their own if they did.