Zack Snyder defends Man of Steel ending by quoting death toll in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

With Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice nearly upon us (and a heap of largely negative reviews piling up), director Zack Snyder seems to be more and more cornered in interviews when it comes to his previous film, Man of Steel – in particular, its infamous ending wherein Superman lays waste to Metropolis while fighting General Zod, causing what we can only assume is a large number of civilian deaths and casualties. But now he’s got another comparison to make in order to stand by his choices, namely Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Speaking with The Wall Street Journal, he recalled a time when he was told by somebody that Man of Steel featured more collateral damage than any other movie in recent history. ‘I went, really?’ Snyder explains. ‘And I said, well, what about [‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘]? In Star Wars they destroy five planets with billions of people on them. That’s gotta be one of the highest death toll movies in history, the new Star Wars movie, if you just do the math.’

We have to agree with him – there are far higher death tolls in movies more recent than Man of Steel, not just The Force Awakens. But we also feel that Snyder is now clutching at straws in order to defend his creative decisions – decisions which would be absolutely fine to stand by, if Snyder himself would only keep to the same reasoning every time it’s brought up, and not fire off on yet another tangental comparison that builds a very loose logic. Snyder’s also forgetting one crucial aspect: in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the villains caused the massive death toll. In Man of Steel, it could be argued that Superman is at least 50% accountable for the death toll. You do the math, Zack.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is released this Friday.