Shazam Director David F. Sandberg Has Interesting Reason He Would Not Want To Make A Superman Film

Posted by Batfleck Forever on March 30th, 2022

Shazam director David F. Sandberg was asked a few questions by fans on Instagram and had some interesting answers. The first was, if he could direct a movie with a different DC hero, who would it be. Sandberg replied:

“At one point I would have said Superman but when there are so many different expectations and hardcore fans you’re going to piss off so many people no matter what you do.”
– David F. Sandberg (Shazam Director)

This is something I’ve brought up in the past and have even suspected was an issue for directors. A lot of people like to think it wouldn’t be that hard to make a crowd pleasing Superman movie, but the character has so many expectations of how he is supposed to be that no one incarnation is sure to please everyone. Make him the Big Blue Boyscout and many audiences will find him boring. Modernize him and give him some edge and people will complain he’s too dark. It’s the classic “not muh Superman” syndrome.

Sandberg also brought up how Star Wars fans reacted to The Last Jedi which faced a similar problem:

“Seeing how people react to things like The Last Jedi makes me want to stay away from things like that. Shazam was perfect in that there hadn’t been that many adaptions before.”
– David F. Sandberg (Shazam Director)

Traditionalist fans didn’t like a new take on Luke Skywalker because of their preconceived notions of how he was supposed to be.

Another fan asked Sandberg if he’d be interested in doing a Justice League movie and he had a similar answer:

“I think that would be too big for me. Too much expectations as well.
– David F. Sandberg (Shazam Director)

I think this is something a lot of people fail to realize in the discourse about the DCEU. There aren’t just endless amounts of directors out there capable of creating these huge, tentpole, blockbuster superhero films, especially the big team up ones. I have no doubt that part of the reason Warner Bros. hasn’t greenlit a Man of Steel sequel, or really made any traction towards future Justice League movies post-Snyder, is because it’s not easy to find people interested in doing it.

That’s why I continue to believe that our best hope for seeing a Clark Kent Superman or Justice League movie anytime soon (like within the next decade) is by bringing back Snyder.

I frequently see people criticizing those who want the Snyderverse restored, telling them to move on, and I imagine that’s because they think the sooner everyone does the sooner WB will reboot things, presumably in a direction more favorable to their preferred take on the characters. What those people fail to realize is WB is not going to do that and for the reasons Sandberg answers revealed. They can’t find anyone willing to and quite frankly they’re scared of even trying. That’s why they’re focusing on lesser known characters (to general audiences) right now.

I imagine they might take another crack at a Superman movie in like 8-10 years but that’s a long time to have to wait. In the meantime, there’s a guy who already knows how to make these kinds of films, wants to do it, and has a plan. Maybe it’s time to give him a call.

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Batfleck Forever

I started reading comics as a kid in the early 90s. My favorite characters were always Superman, Batman, X-Men, and Spawn. "The Dark Knight Returns", "The Death of Superman", and "Knightfall" were the storylines that got me into DC.