James Gunn Denies Zack Snyder Meeting Was About a DC Return for Filmmaker

James Gunn says fans probably shouldn’t read too much about his recent photo with Zack Snyder. Being a DC fan has been pretty hard for the last 15 years or so when it comes to movies. After the incredibly successful, Oscar-winning Dark Knight Trilogy from Christopher Nolan, DC immediately looked to reinvent Superman in the same way it did Batman. Christopher Nolan worked with Zack Snyder to hammer out the launching point for a new universe with Man of Steel. Although the movie was divisive because of its dark story and extreme loss of life, it was successful enough for Warner Bros. to be interested in continuing the universe with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

That movie was even more divisive and led to a lot of panic at WB. However, it was a bit late to course correct as Justice League went into production just weeks after the release of Batman v Superman. Although Zack Snyder intended for the film to generally be lighter than the previous films, Warner Bros. grew concerned over the direction of the series. Snyder eventually had to leave the project during post-production due to a loss in his family, leading to Joss Whedon to take over on reshoots and editing. Ultimately, what we got was not Snyder’s intended vision and it was a pretty big disaster.

This DC franchise eventually imploded after a series of miscalculated duds that were in a universe that couldn’t decide on what it wanted to be. Was it going to continue Snyder’s story? Was it just going to move on, but keep the same actors? No one could really say what the plan was post-Snyder. Eventually, DC hired Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn to come in and try and get a hold of things. He decided to reboot the entire thing from scratch with Superman being the first film in the series. With that said, there are still some fans who long to see Zack Snyder’s vision completed with another Justice League movie or two.

[RELATED: James Gunn Teases His Favorite Upcoming DCU Project No One Knows About]

Zack Snyder Isn’t Making a DC Movie for James Gunn

While that has seemed out of the question for some time now, James Gunn recently posted a picture with Zack Snyder that had DC fans losing their minds. At a recent DC Studios event attended by ComicBook, James Gunn was asked if there was anything significant about that particular meeting. Gunn noted that they were not speaking about a DC project for Snyder, instead, they were just hanging out and thought it would be funny to post a picture together.

“I was just talking to Zack as a friend,” said Gunn. “So, you know, we were just hanging out and then we’re like, ‘Let’s take a picture together.’ We knew full well what we were doing….He thought it was funny. I thought it was funny. And that’s that.”

When asked if Gunn showed Snyder an early cut of Superman, Gunn noted that they only briefly saw each other so he didn’t show him the upcoming DC film.

James Gunn and Zack Snyder have known each other since long before either were in the DC universe. James Gunn wrote the script for Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead film and has seemingly remained friendly over the years. Whether or not Snyder ever returns to the DC universe is a mystery. It’s possible another project will exist for him a decade from now, many thought The Snyder Cut would never happen and it did. However, it does seem like another movie in the actual Snyder universe is unlikely given everyone has moved on and Gunn’s universe is now in full swing rather than an idea on a whiteboard.

Some fans have suggested that Zack Snyder would be a great fit for The Authority, one of the films that is on James Gunn’s DC slate. As of right now, there’s no known director for that movie, but it doesn’t sound like Snyder is in contention for the job at the moment. Zack Snyder is already planning his next movie with Netflix at the moment. Either way, it sounds like James Gunn and Zack Snyder were both teasing and trolling the audience.

What do you think of the filmmaker’s remarks? Let us know in the comments below!