Between DC, Marvel, and Star Wars, 2021 will deliver content on all fronts of its opening months, and fans of the respective cinematic universes are excited to say the least.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is heading into a new generation of stories as Marvel Studios prepare to launch Phase Four with WandaVision on January 15. And the Star Wars universe is building something big with the growing "Filoni-Verse" branching off from the success of The Mandalorian .
Meanwhile, the DCEU has seemed to have run into a continuity identity crisis with its 2021 slate. Zack Snyder's director's cut of the Justice League is arguably the most anticipated project in recent history. And while die-hard DCEU fans are excited to finally see Snyder's vision for this massive DC team-up, DC Films President Walter Hamada stated recently in an interview that the Snyder Cut will ultimately not be involved in the grand scheme of the DCEU moving forward .
While DC seems to be embracing the multiverse model that is so beloved in the comics, fans are still struggling to determine which stories are meant to be pieced together and which are stand-alone adventures.
With projects like Robert Pattinson's The Batman , James Gunn's take on The Suicide Squad and the highly-anticipated Snyder Cut of Justice League all set to release in the next year, fans are wondering what all is canon in the DCEU. Well, Cyborg says it is up to you.
NEWS
In a recent tweet, Cyborg actor Ray Fisher stated that "what the fans say is canon - is canon," following it up with the new trendy hashtag #RestoreTheSnyderVerse. This is a new fan movement in response to Hamada's comments suggesting that DC Films is steering away from Zack Snyder's grand vision for the greater DCEU.
What the fans say is canon—is canon. #RestoreTheSnyderVerse pic.twitter.com/Fx4PrcV3R5
#RestoreTheSnyderVerse has also gained support from another actor that is making his DCEU debut in the Snyder Cut. Ray Porter, who is set to portray Darkseid in Zack Snyder's Justice League, also tweeted the hashtag.
#RestoreTheSnyderVerse
This further proves that those who used the power of social media to give Zack Snyder a chance to finally tell his story for the Justice League , are now attempting to use the same campaign strategy to reprise Snyder's vision for the entire DC Extended Universe.
WHAT THIS MEANS
As mentioned earlier, Zack Snyder's Justice League is arguably the most anticipated project in recent history. And that may be true. But there it has also become one of the most controversial comic book properties of the last decade.
While fans agree and disagree on how the DCEU has been handled in the wake of the infamous Whedon takeover of Justice League in 2018, there is no doubt that DC Films has been taking steps to separate from the "Snyder-Verse" that was being built since 2013's Man of Steel .
It was the power of the people and the support of the artist that allowed Snyder to release his vision for the project on HBO Max in March 2021. And many have wondered how this will change things for films like Wonder Woman 1984 , the Aquaman sequel, and the ever-important Flash solo film, set to feature many characters across the history of DC films.
Fisher's comments about the fans deciding what is canon in DC films has a bittersweet feeling.
On one hand, this quote embraces the beauty of comic books that allow for different variations of the same characters to coexist in a variety of storytelling worlds.
On the other hand, it takes away from the satisfying continuity that movie universes have been shooting forever since a camera circled around Earth's Mightiest Heroes in The Battle of New York in 2012. Fisher has obviously been the vocal leader behind making Zack Snyder's iteration of Justice League the version that counts moving forward. But with DC Films being so adamant about creating distance from this project, it is hard to imagine a world where that is the case.
The expectations for The Snyder Cut is a polarizing and divisive bar.
For those who are a fan of Zack Snyder's interpretation of these characters and their stories, they are sure to be thrilled to finally see that vision brought to life come March. But the fans who care about long-term effects in the DCEU and how The Snyder Cut changes the story moving forward, you have a tough decision to make. DC Films seems to believe that the cut will have no impact moving forward, but the Snyder-Believers out there seem to think you can create your own canon, and write your own story.
