The entertainment industry is largely dominated by blockbuster superhero movies, especially with the Marvel Cinematic Universe's continued success as well as releases from the DC Extended Universe.
Marvel CCO Kevin Feige has led the way since the beginning, bringing the Infinity Saga to life and continuing the franchise into Phase 4 and beyond. On the DC side, Zack Snyder had a hand in nearly every DCEU movie that came to the big screen, directing three films and serving as an executive producer on four separate entries as well.
Snyder's most recent release was the long-awaited Zack Snyder's Justice League, finally bringing his vision for the 2017 team-up movie to life. Although the director's work with comic book movies has been exclusively tied to DC, he's been complimentary of the work his competitors at Marvel Studios have done for more than a decade.
Snyder even recently imagined what it would have looked like if the MCU had gone down a different path, a much less successful one according to his calculations.
SNYDER'S VERSION OF THE MCU
Man of Steel director Zack Snyder spoke with The Guardian about what he would have done had he been "in charge" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Snyder admitted that his changes to the MCU would have caused it to "maybe [make] less money or [be] less beloved." In the end, Snyder heaped praise upon Marvel Studios' work once again by saying there may not be "a better way to do it:"
"Nothing. I could have changed it so it would have maybe made less money or been less beloved. But for what they’ve created – I don’t know that there is a better way to do it."
LEAVING THINGS THE WAY THEY ARE
Zack Snyder hasn't held back from speaking his mind on Marvel Studios' successes. Up to this point, he has never really had anything bad to say about what Marvel CCO Kevin Feige and crew have accomplished.
The DCEU has seen its ups and downs in terms of critical and financial reception since its debut in 2013, all as has the MCU, although Marvel seems to have found a formula to rise to new heights. To date, the 23 movies in the Infinity Saga have grossed more than $22 billion globally, while Phase 4's Disney+ outings are already rising to the top of the streaming charts.
Snyder has spoken in the past about Marvel characters he's loved, heaping praise on the Hulk and Iron Man while revealing that he'd love a chance to tackle Daredevil and Elektra with the right opportunity. However, it seems clear that he knows how well-loved the MCU is, feeling fairly confident that the series is more than alright without his services.
