Zack Snyder has built a reputation for his bold visual storytelling and expansive world-building, whether in the superhero genre with Justice League or in his dystopian sci-fi project Rebel Moon. However, while his feature films often grapple with runtime limitations and studio mandates, Snyder has finally found a medium where his creativity knows no bounds—animation. 

A still from Twilight of the Gods || Credit: Netflix

His latest Netflix venture, Twilight of the Gods, has provided him with the rare opportunity to fully explore his wildest artistic ambitions without fear of “running out of space.” The director referenced the increased space for creativity that television has provided, during an interview.

Zack Snyder had room to be ‘weird’ while working on Twilight of the Gods

Zack Snyder (via Netflix)

Twilight of the Gods is an animated series that plunges deep into Norse mythology. Unlike many pop-culture adaptations that sanitize or simplify these ancient tales, Zack Snyder has embraced their bizarre, gender-fluid, and often brutal nature. As he revealed during a Netflix Geeked Week interview, this unrestrained approach was exactly what he wanted: (via Shakefire)

We could do all the weird sh*t that we wanted to and never run out of space.

Snyder’s passion for mythology dates back to his high school years, where he first studied Norse legends in-depth. With the help of writer and mythology expert Peter Aperlo, he ensured that Twilight of the Gods remained authentic while pushing the boundaries of what audiences expect from such a series.

The director explained how he was able to maintain a sense of creativity and ‘edginess’ in Twilight of the Gods. He claimed that while he committed to a bizarre vision of Norse mythology, the show still lines up well with traditional stories.

Zack Snyder claims edginess sets Twilight of the Gods apart

Twilight of the Gods. | Netflix

Snyder is known for extended director’s cuts, often exceeding three or four hours, in order to present his full vision. With Twilight of the Gods, he no longer needed to make those trade-offs. Unlike feature films constrained by theatrical runtime expectations, animation allowed him to tell an expansive story across multiple episodes.

This, also led to the director realizing his own vision:

It’s not really the sort of Norse Mythology that you have seen so much in pop culture. Or pop culture tends to like shave the edges off a bit and make it a little easier. We really went for all the weirdness. I thought that was cool. So like yeah, I think that it’s a much weirder, kind of more edgy, kind of bizarro vision of Norse mythology but actually lines up probably more with traditional Norse mythology. You know, with all, there’s like, they’re all gender bending and they’re all like, you know, it’s great!

The director also talked about the expertise his team of writers brought in, claiming that the resultant narrative struck a clear balance between being crazy, and taking inspiration from actual stories from the Norse mythology.

Twilight of the Gods is now available to stream on Netflix. 
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire