The SnyderCut subreddit moderators removed a post urging fans to sabotage the upcoming Superman film and released a statement to their community.
On Monday, DC Universe head James Gunn responded to a post rallying fans to “stand up for the SnyderVerse on July 11.”
The user encouraged supporters to “share spoilers widely,” “post negative reviews on rating platforms,” and “book tickets online without completing the purchase.”
“Gunn struck first and ended the SnyderVerse; now we can fight back,” the post concluded.
After a Threads user flagged the post to Gunn, he downplayed its potential impact on Superman’s success.
“Lol, I think we’ll be fine,” he said. “I doubt the eight people following that guy—guessing it’s a guy—will change much.”
The r/SnyderCut moderators clarified that they deleted the post roughly two hours after it appeared, noting it had minimal engagement. However, a screenshot of the post had already spread across social media, reaching Gunn on Threads.
The moderators distanced themselves from the post’s content in a locked thread:
“Our team did not approve that post and does not support its message. This is a public subreddit where posts don’t require pre-approval. The presence of a post does not imply our endorsement. Our moderators remove posts that violate our policies or Reddit’s rules. This post clearly breached our guidelines, both in letter and spirit, and was promptly removed.
“The post wasn’t so much divisive as it was widely rejected. We respect everyone’s right to choose not to watch a film, but we do not condone dishonest or manipulative tactics to prevent others from seeing it.”
The Zack Snyder fandom has made headlines before. SnyderVerse supporters influenced Warner Bros.’ 2021 release of the Snyder Cut of Justice League. Last year, Suicide Squad 2016 director David Ayer addressed backlash over his support for Gunn’s Superman and its debut trailer.
Ayer, whose criticized Suicide Squad film was part of Snyder’s discontinued DCEU, initially used X/Twitter to urge fans not to push an ‘Ayer Cut’ campaign alongside the Superman trailer release. Frustrated by the online response, Ayer announced he was stepping back from the conversation.
In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Gunn addressed some SnyderVerse fans hoping for Superman and his new DCU to fail.
“I don’t mind it,” he said. “It’s healthy to have not everyone cheering for you. One of my actors—top five in Superman, he’ll know who he is—gets upset over online comments. I told him, ‘The trailer dropped, and reactions were 97, 98% positive. These critics help us; you don’t want everything to feel 100% positive.’
“It’s fine to have some opposition now and then. Things can get absurd—I know that no matter how well-received something is, there’ll always be some controversy. Like the debate over the sun causing Superman pain.”
In the same Rolling Stone interview, Gunn explained his decision to drop subtitles for this July’s Superman and next summer’s Supergirl.
