“This was always a stupid idea”: It’s Hard to Defend Zack Snyder’s Plan for Zeus and His Link With Henry Cavill’s Superman

Zack Snyder’s DCEU feels like a long-forgotten fever dream now that the new age of the DCU dawns with James Gunn and Co. However, there was a time when Snyder’s unrealized plans for his DC films, which began with Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel, excited fans despite their polarizing response at the cinemas.

Snyder finished his run with the DCEU after Zack Snyder’s Justice League but revealed many of his initial plans for the franchise that included a five-film arc. Among other deviations from the comics, the filmmaker revealed that he planned to ground the origins of gods like Zeus and heroes like Wonder Woman in the reality of the films by making them Kryptonian.

Zack Snyder had different plans for the origins of Olympian gods

Zack Snyder | Credits: Netflix

While the MCU and Marvel comics explored Norse mythology with heroes like Thor and Loki, the DC Universe explored Greek and Roman mythology in the comics. From the Amazons to Atlantis, the Greek mythologies were expanded to be included in the superhero universe of the comics, with characters like Zeus and Ares making appearances.

While Ares was the main antagonist in 2017’s Wonder Woman, the God of Lightning and the King of Gods, Zeus, was revealed in the opening montage of Wonder Woman and Justice League. Zack Snyder’s vision for the DCEU included an exploration of the way gods and god-like figures are treated, with Henry Cavill’s Superman turning from an alien to a god.

A still from Zack Snyder’s Justice League | Credits: Max

In a Q&A panel held in 2023, Snyder revealed how he planned to give an explanation of the origins of other gods’ powers within the DCEU. He said (via Comic Book),

[We thought] Zeus could possibly be Kryptonian so that Wonder Woman’s powers…anyway, you can sort of see where that’s going. The whole thing of whether or not magic or gods…there’s a version of where you’re like ‘That’s cool, I guess,’ then there’s the scientific aspect. You have the pathology of wondering where gods come from. We had played around with that quite a bit.

The films would reportedly then explore the concept of New Gods like Darkseid and Steppenwolf, who entered Earth with Justice League.

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The Superman connection to Zeus did not go down well with fans

Henry Cavill in Zack Snyder’s Justice League | Credits: Max

Fans got a glimpse of Zack Snyder’s plans for the DCEU with visions in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. A post-apocalyptic world ruled by Darkseid and a rogue Superman, with Batman and other heroes teaming up with the likes of Joker to stop the two. However, Snyder definitely had more in mind.

Despite the concept of a realistic explanation of Zeus and Ares’ powers as well as the difference between the Old Gods and the New Gods (with Henry Cavill’s Superman acting like a weird bridge) being interesting, the Kryptonian origins of the Olympian gods did not go down well with fans. Many criticized the idea and were grateful it was not realized on film.

The SnyderVerse is finally dead now and James Gunn is set to explore ‘Gods and Monsters’ in his own bright and hopeful way with the DCU and Superman. David Corenswet’s Superman seems to be the only “god” on the horizon for now.