Zack Snyder Talks Batman Vs Superman

Director and filmmaker Zack Snyder recently sat down to an interview with Hero Complex of the LA Times.  (Here is the interview on their site.)  The stand alone part I will pull out and post here to talk about is this:

HC:   How surprised are you by all the outcry over some of your casting choices? From Gal Gadot to Ben playing Batman? Jesse as Lex Luthor?

Zack Snyder:   There are two ways to think about it. We know the material. Unfortunately, the fans don’t know the material. So, we’re casting according to what’s happening in the script. And we’re hoping that leads to enough originality, enough perspective on what we’re doing that you get something fresh and exciting. I understand the canon. I’m not crazy. I know what these characters need from a mythological standpoint. I think Jesse is going to be an amazing Lex. Let’s not forget he was nominated for an Academy Award. It’s not like I just grabbed my friend to play the guy! This guy’s the real deal. By the way, in looking at all the talk-back, you can get all different perspectives in there too. Some people are hating to hate. Some people — someone did some fan art. And you look underneath and someone wrote, “I guess I can see it.” Honestly, are you kidding me? Just stop it! It’s reassuring and frustrating at the same time.

How do you even go about making sense of this?  Yes, every director has a vision, that’s not really up for dispute and we don’t KNOW what the script looks like, totally true. But to say that you and you alone understand the mythos of these characters and the majority of the hardcore fans  who you’re hoping fork over money to SEE YOUR FILM are wrong?  That’s your first problem there, Zack.  Never tell the audience they are stupid, wrong, or imperfect.  They don’t want to hear this, it’s why they go to the movies, to lose themselves in the magic of cinema.  And telling them to stop?  It will NEVER HAPPEN.  That is why these titles and heroes keep getting new films and comics, because those fans who ‘don’t know the material’ DO know the SOURCE material, and want to reinvent them the same way a director revamps a series.