Zack Snyder on Joe Rogan Says Batman Is Irrelevant If He Can't Kill

Summary

Zack Snyder appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience and discussed various topics, including his belief that Batman should kill
His comments have sparked controversy on social media and were influenced by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns
Snyder also talks about his upcoming projects, including a six-hour Director’s Cut of Rebel Moon and his love for the Heavy Metal comic book

Zack Snyder appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience and talked about a variety of topics including that he thinks Batman should kill and that if Batman doesn’t kill that makes the character irrelevant.

The comments are causing controversy on social media due to Snyder’s take on Batman, which Snyder tells Joe Rogan was heavily influenced by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns where Batman is forced to kill a bad guy that has a gun to a kid’s head.

The interview, watch below, is actually really good and really shows off Snyder’s geek side, particularly where Snyder gets excited about talking how the Heavy Metal comic book has influenced him so much.

“You’re making your god irrelevant”

Regarding Batman killing, Snyder compares the character to “your god.”

“Batman can’t kill is canon,” Snyder explains. “And I’m like, ‘Okay, the first thing I wanna do when you say that [laughs] is I wanna see what happens.’ And they go, ‘Well don’t put him in a situation where he has to kill someone!'”

Snyder continues with the comment that is getting fans all riled up, that if Batman can’t kill then Batman is irrelevant.

“I’m like, ‘Well you’re protecting your god in a weird way, right? You’re making your god irrelevant if he can’t be in that situation. He has to now deal with that. If he does do that what does that mean? What does it tell you? But does he stand up to it? Can he survive that?'” says Snyder. “Right? As a god, as your god, can Batman survive that?”

Star Trek’s Kobayashi Maru

Snyder also compares the situation of Batman not killing to Star Trek‘s Kobayashi Maru, the test where there is no way to win. While Captain Kirk cheated and fixed the test so he could win, Snyder explains that in the case of Miller’s Batman, the only choice Batman can make is killing the bad guy otherwise the child would die.

Joe Rogan agrees, and as they note, however, a lot of fans disagree. Snyder also reveals that when he was making Batman vs. Superman, the MPAA ratings board kept coming back with an R rating. Snyder says the board didn’t like that Batman was fighting Superman, which he thought was ridiculous and adds he feels the Batman vs. Superman Director’s Cut is much better.

He also has his 6-hour Rebel Moon Director’s Cut coming out in the Summer, which he compares to his love of Heavy Metal, and says the rating right now is TV-MA, which could mean R-rated or anything above that.

Watch below for more. He talks about Batman killing around the 1:09:00 mark.