With Superman Opening Soon, It's Time For Zack Snyder Fans To Take A Nice, Long Break To Chill The Heck Out

James Gunn's "Superman" will soar into theaters less than a month from now, and it's already tracking to be a box office juggernaut. At the time of writing, the first movie in James Gunn's DC Universe is projected to gross anywhere between $140 million and $185 million domestically over its opening weekend — which must come as a relief to Warner Bros., given the film's $225 million budget. And while it hasn't been screened for critics just yet, WB's marketing and publicity campaigns suggest the studio is incredibly high on the film. Then again, with that budget and Gunn's ambitions as the co-head of the DCU (alongside Peter Safran), the studio really has no choice but to treat "Superman" like it's going to be the blockbuster savior of a flagging genre.

We'll have to wait for the first round of critics reactions to come in before we speculate as to how word of mouth on "Superman" might help or hurt the film, but we do know for sure that there is a pathetically small subset of fans out there that is hellbent on destroying the box office prospects of Gunn's movie. Yes, the meathead supporters of Zack Snyder's kiboshed DC Extended Universe franchise are still filling their adult diapers over WB, Gunn, and Safran choosing to move on from a series of films that, aside from a few exceptions like Patty Jenkins' "Wonder Woman," failed to connect with mainstream moviegoers as palpably as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even though the WB catered to these caterwauling creeps (who, I can assure you, are utter pests on social media) and allowed Snyder to complete his version of "Justice League" (which, while dreadfully overlong, boasts moments of epic superhero grandeur that remind you of Snyder's rare gift for visual maximalism), they have responded to receiving their inch by demanding several thousand miles of van art cinema.

Since Snyder fans have zero leverage and few (if any) friends, they've hatched a hateful plan to ruin "Superman" for people who didn't spiral into a Faygo-fueled rage over Krypto being an adorable puppers instead of an HGH-infused pitbull (this is a real thing that happened). Like everything these people have done in their Cheeto-stained existence, this plan is doomed to failure. Will these malcontents ever realize this war has been over for years and that they're wasting their brief time on this planet by begging a bottom-line-oriented corporation to do something that would cause a shareholder revolt and end dozens of careers?

Recently, on the subreddit r/SnyderCut, some terminally online twerp ignored his AI girlfriend long enough to post a three-pronged strategy to kill "Superman." This Che Guavara of the voluntarily unwashed exhorted his comrades to 1) incessantly post spoilers on social media, 2) reserve scads of tickets for showtimes prior to each screening in the hopes that people will think all the good seats are taken, and 3) bomb sites like Rotten Tomatoes with poor ratings. Their cunning endgame is to force WB to fire Gunn/Safran, smother the DCU in the crib, and rehire Snyder.

Imagine living and thinking like this.

When asked about this effort by Rolling Stone, Gunn responded, "I think we will survive. I'm not sure the eight people that listen to that guy (I'm going to go out on a limb and guess it's a guy) are going to impact the course of events."

This is obvious to all but this contingent of DCEU faithful, who believe in their rapidly clogging heart of hearts that Snyder's sequels (which would've included an evil Superman and Lois Lane and Superman's child becoming the next Batman) could still go before cameras. First of all, who the hell wants an evil Superman while our very real world is tearing itself apart? Secondly, Snyder just set an Everest-sized mountain of Netflix's money on fire with his poorly received and largely ignored "Rebel Moon" movies. He doesn't seem to have his finger on the pulse of moviegoers at the moment, so I doubt WB is hot to get back into business with him.

Earlier this year, Gunn posted a picture to Instagram of himself with his "friend" Zack Snyder, whom he called "a consummate filmmaker (and a doubly consummate storyteller)." This was the peacemaking passing of the torch moment. Considering how gracious and thoughtful Gunn has been since segueing into blockbuster filmmaking, it's bizarre that you could still hold ill will against the guy when it comes to his superhero movies. He wears his heart on his sleeve and identifies with the down and discarded. Look at how fiercely he connected with Rocket Raccoon. His "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy is deeply, heartbreakingly personal.

So, it's doubly strange that Synder guys, who strike me as outsiders, would devote themselves to a lost cause aimed at undermining one of their own. Perhaps Gunn's sin is compassion. He cares so much, whereas Snyder's films seem more preoccupied with conflict than justice. If that's what's animating this backlash, there might be no reasoning with them. But if they could be real with themselves and understand they're pointlessly bumping up against a dead end like the marching band at the end of "National Lampoon's Animal House" in full view of the rest of the internet, they'd find a truly righteous cause worthy of their passion.

"Superman" flies into theaters on July 11, 2025.