Christopher Nolan says divisive Zack Snyder superhero movie was “ahead of its time”

❘ Published: 2023-11-29T15:08:48

Warner Bros.

Alan Moore has famously spoken out against film adaptations of his work, such as 2009’s Watchmen.

Way before the director’s cut of Justice League became a joke in Barbie, Zack Synder introduced the world to Watchmen – a movie Christopher Nolan thinks was “ahead of its time.”

In two different ways, both Zack Synder and Christopher Nolan are having an incredible 2023 – with Nolan basking in the success of Oppenheimer, while Snyder gears up for the release of his new film, Rebel Moon.

However, that doesn’t always mean that Snyder’s work has been appreciated, with the director’s cut of Justice League most recently being made fun of in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.

Despite divided opinion, Nolan has great respect for one of Synder’s earlier superhero films, stating it as “fascinating.”

Christopher Nolan says Zack Snyder’s Watchmen was “ahead of its time”

According to an interview in The Hollywood Reporter, Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan said that Zack Snyder’s Watchmen was “ahead of its time.”

Christopher Nolan says he believed Zack Snyder’s ‘WATCHMEN’ was ahead of its time.

“The idea of a superhero team, which it so brilliantly subverts, wasn’t yet a thing in movies. It would have been fascinating to see it released post-Avengers.”

(Source: https://t.co/h1jlsjh6rw) pic.twitter.com/7ezph2IvAl
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) November 29, 2023

Released in 2009, Watchmen follows a group of superheroes who come together when one of their own is murdered to find out who is responsible for it. However, they stumble upon an even darker secret that could destroy the entire planet.

“I’ve always believed Watchmen was ahead of its time,” Nolan said in an email according to the interview. “The idea of a superhero team, which it so brilliantly subverts, wasn’t yet a thing in movies. It would have been fascinating to see it released post-Avengers.”

The email came around the same time that Christopher Nolan was directing Batman film The Dark Knight, with Zack Snyder describing him in the piece as a “close director friend.”

The interview also suggests that Synder was one of the few other directors granted early access to Oppenheimer, alongside Paul Thomas Anderson, Todd Phillips, and Denis Villeneuve.

“Agree. Even Watchmen’s opening credits are a better movie than most movies,” one fan posted on X/Twitter. “I think it colored Zack Snyder’s attempt at the DCEU which came after it, but nevertheless, Watchmen is a beautiful movie and stands the test of time, unencumbered by the expectations of a franchise.”

“It’s fantastic to see Christopher Nolan praising Zack Snyder’s WATCHMEN as ahead of its time,” said another. “Nolan’s acknowledgment of the film’s innovative take on the superhero genre and its unique subversion of team dynamics, especially before the rise of superhero team movies, adds a valuable perspective.”

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