Revisiting the ups and downs of Zack Snyder's DC universe
A look back on the franchise Snyder launched eight years ago, tracing its origins and course corrections

Clockwise from left: Man Of Steel (Screenshot: Warner Bros. Pictures); Wonder Woman (Screenshot: Warner Bros. Pictures); Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice (Screenshot: Warner Bros. Pictures) Graphic: Baraka Kaseko
By popular and very persistent demand, this week saw the improbable release of a kind of holy grail of superhero-cinema fandom: the fabled, four-hour Zack Snyder cut of Justice League, which fans have been clamoring for since the heavily rewritten, reshot, and recut version of the movie landed like a hunk of kryptonite back in 2017. In honor of the occasion, regular Film Club host A.A. Dowd and special guest Alex McLevy (who’s filling in for Katie Rife this week while she covers the SXSW Film Festival) look back on the franchise Snyder launched eight years ago, tracing its origins and course corrections, while talking about what works and what doesn’t in super-sized spectacles like Man Of Steel, Batman V Superman, and Wonder Woman.