If there was ever any doubt, it’s now officially fair to say that Zack Snyder is a Star Wars fan. A recent Twitter post reveals the extent to which the director was inspired by George Lucas’s vision while making his DC films for Warner Bros.
Set to John Williams’ classic Star Wars theme, user kgcrossov3r provides a side-by-side comparison of various shot compositions from the original trilogy that Snyder evokes in Man of Steel, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. We’re treated to Krypton’s destruction mirroring Alderaan’s annihilation in the special edition of A New Hope, Superman’s capsule falling to Earth echoing those deep space probes nearing Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, and even a heroic image of Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne in Justice League riding a horse and then dramatically pulling down his snow goggles, just as Luke does in Empire while riding his tauntaun.
While some may argue that there are only so many ways to frame planets exploding and pod-shaped things falling into atmosphere, it’s important to note that some of these shots are nearly identical. For example, one setup in Man of Steel where Superman pulls himself up from a snowy hole in the ground is a terrific match — perhaps even down to lens size — with the Imperial Probe Droid rising from an impact crater in Empire.
No one is accusing Snyder of ripping anything off here (except for maybe Lucas’ tin ear for dialogue). He clearly loves the original Star Wars films and is just tipping his cap to the movies he fell in love with as a kid, a notion further supported by one of kgcrossov3r’s follow-up tweets:
Despite being a controversial storyteller, Snyder is typically regarded as a talented visualist by both fans and detractors — dingy color palettes aside. And even though we’ll likely never see Snyder’s full vision for the DC universe, it likely would have been, at the very least, a spectacle to behold.
Published: May 4, 2023 05:50 pm