Zack and Deborah Snyder Discuss BATMAN V SUPERMAN’s R-Rated Cut, Different Tones in the DC Extended Universe and More

With Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice finally hitting theaters next week, the cast and crew have been heavily promoting the film. In a lengthy interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director Zack Snyder and his wife, producer Deborah Snyder, discuss the DC Extended Universe.

Zack reveals exactly how much extra time is in the R-rated “Ultimate Edition” of Batman v Superman, which will release on home video, as well as why exactly it’s rated R. Meanwhile, the duo comment on the “filmmaker-driven” approach to the DCEU, how to approach multiple tones in one universe, and more.

Regarding the Ultimate Edition, Zack says that there are 30 minutes of additional footage, bringing the film’s runtime to three hours. He also reaffirms that the only reason why this cut is rated R is that it has a “little bit” of extra violence. “The why of that is [the DVD version] is a half-hour longer, and some of that additional material is some of the stuff we took out for the rating. I was like, ‘Cool, I can put it back in for the director’s cut.’ There was nothing by design. This was the material I just put back in, and then when [the MPAA] looked at it again, they were like, ‘Oh, now the movie’s rated R.’ And, by the way, it’s not a hard R. There’s no nudity. There’s a little bit of violence. It just tips the scale.” And no, this move wasn’t influenced by the success of Deadpool, something that Deborah rehashes here.

The two then reaffirms that there is a timeline for the DCEU, containing all of the characters and the events of the movies. And within that framework, directors will have creative freedom when it comes to tone and more. Deborah says, “Zack and [DC chief creative officer] Geoff Johns have outlined a timeline of where everybody is based off of, where our characters go in Justice League. So there’s a framework. But it’s filmmaker-driven, in that we want to hire directors who still have a point of view and that have latitude because we don’t want all the movies to feel the same. David Ayer has a certain tone and feel to what he brought to Suicide Squad, as does Patty [Jenkins] to Wonder Woman. They have freedom to tell their story in the way that it needs to be told.”

Zack adds, “Batman v Superman was always a stepping stone for Justice League, and it was a way to bring the worlds together without being too jarring. … Our philosophy, though, is it’s filmmaker-driven. A lot of it comes from the idea of ‘do unto others.’ How would I feel if I was told, ‘Listen, this is your movie, but shoot it like we say?’ It’s not fun and cool, and I don’t think you get the best work from everybody. To understand that, there is a bigger storyline, and let’s all support that and not blow up the entire universe because you have an idea that you think is awesome but doesn’t make sense with the bigger thing.”

Speaking of tone, Zack and Deborah discuss why the DCEU will not have a “universal” tone for every movie. Deborah says that if this happens, the films will feel like they’re “made by a committee.”

Zack explains, “The mandate is that we try and make the best movies we can. If you’re making a Flash movie with Ezra Miller, it’s like millennial Flash. It’s going to be a little lighter than making a World War I epic with this feminist icon like Wonder Woman. The films do live in a united universe. I feel like the danger is — and I think that the studio would acknowledge this — when you start to mimic things like tone. Then, when you go to the movie, you pretty much know the experience you’re going to have.”

For more from Zack and Deborah, where they comment on the Marvel vs. DC rivalry and the pressure of Batman v Superman‘s success, click HERE.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is scheduled to hit theaters March 25th. The second installment in the DC Extended Universe stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter and Gal Gadot. Zack Snyder directs from a script by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer.