Zack Snyder, director of the 2021 HBO Max film Zack Snyder’s Justice League, has opened up about his reaction to a surprising reference in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. The Barbie film, known for its star-studded cast and various pop culture references, notably referred to Snyder’s Cut, creating quite a buzz in entertainment circles. “I thought Barbie was great,” Snyder expressed in a recent interview with Men’s Health, giving a positive reaction to the movie. “And I think the joke is pretty good.” Snyder went on to reflect on the surreal nature of his name seamlessly intertwining with a massive pop culture phenomenon, allowing it to exist in a movie about Barbie.
He also added that he asked his wife to take a moment to step back and ponder the massive influence of his work on the ongoing culture, so much so that it bagged a reference in the Barbie universe too. He further showed he was very pleasantly surprised saying, “That’s pretty insane. You just need to step back for a second and go, ‘Whoa, what did we do? What happened? How is that a thing?'”
The Snyder Cut refers to Zack Snyder’s version of the DC Universe’s film Justice League. After Snyder left the project in between due to some personal reasons, director Joss Whedon reportedly took over and made substantial changes to the film and released it in 2017. However, DC fans campaigned for the release of Snyder’s original version of the Justice League, and it came out as Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a four-hour director’s cut released on HBO Max in 2021.
Greta Gerwig, the director and co-writer of Barbie, shared exclusive insights in an interview with ComicBook.com, explaining the thought process behind incorporating the Snyder Cut reference. “Because I don’t have a dog in this fight, I didn’t even really know, I knew it was a thing,” Gerwig said.
She elaborated on the character Writer Barbie’s vague knowledge of the Snyder Cut, highlighting its significance during specific states of mind within the storyline.
Gerwig also revealed another interesting tidbit about the development of the Barbie script. Before the inclusion of the Snyder Cut reference, there were initial plans to feature a nod to the 1982 classic, Blade Runner. The original script contained a line referencing Blade Runner’s notorious debate over its voiceover element. Gerwig disclosed that there were fleeting considerations for a cameo appearance by Blade Runner director Ridley Scott in Barbie, although this idea ultimately did not get executed.
While in conversation with ComicBook.com, Gerwig clarified that all references in Barbie, including the proposed Blade Runner mention, were rooted in affection rather than mockery. “It wasn’t making fun of him. We loved him as we love all of our references,” she affirmed, with co-writer Baumbach adding, “Every reference we had was out of love. We love Sly Stallone. Everything was a lighters-up tribute.”
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