Here's what Zack Snyder thinks about the Marvel vs DC debate

If you're a fan of comic book heroes, it's a good time to be alive. We are living in a golden age of superhero cinema right now, and while much of the credit for that deserves to go to Marvel, DC is about to join the party in a big way with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice later this month.

There's always been a passionate discussion among fans when it comes to which brand is superior, and with DC's and Marvel's biggest movies coming out within a month of each other tensions have rarely been higher. Snyder was asked about the debate while chatting to The Hollywood Reporter recently, and for his part the director isn't annoyed with the constant comparisons.

"It’s like comparing Downton Abbey and Mr. Selfridge. Like Star Wars and Star Trek. Those are things that you could compare, but no one ever does. Those [DC versus Marvel] conversations are fun for the Internet. But in truth, it represents such a small group of people who are actually versed in the difference between DC and Marvel. The average moviegoer doesn’t know. Like my dad would be, ‘Is Spider-Man ever going to be in any of your films?’"

One way the DCEU can differentiate themselves from the MCU is by switching up the style and tone from movie to movie; "If you’re making a Flash movie with Ezra Miller, it’s like millennial Flash", Snyder noted. "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."

In some ways what Snyder and DC are proposing here is even more tricky than what Marvel have done with the MCU. If the tone in each DC movie is radically different, what will that mean for the Justice League movies? As always, time will tell.

Directed by Zack Snyder and starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Laurence Fishburne, and Amy Adams, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will arrive in UK and US cinemas on March 25, 2016.

Images: Warner Bros.

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for GamesRadar+, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.