Zack Snyder
Zachary Edward Snyder is an American filmmaker. After starting his career primarily directing music videos, he made his feature film debut in 2004 with Dawn of the Dead, a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name. Since then, he has directed or produced a number of comic book and superhero films, including 300 and Watchmen, as well as the Superman film that started the DC Extended Universe, Man of Steel, and its follow-ups, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, the latter of which had a director's cut released in 2021.
Aside from comic adaptation, he also directed the animated film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, the psychological action film Sucker Punch, the zombie heist film Army of the Dead, and the two-parter space opera films Rebel Moon and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver.
In 2004, he founded the production company The Stone Quarry alongside his wife Deborah Snyder and producing partner Wesley Coller.
Early life and education
Zachary Edward Snyder was born on March 1, 1966, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and raised in Riverside, Connecticut, or Greenwich, Connecticut. His mother, Marsha Manley, was a painter and a photography teacher at Daycroft School, which Snyder later attended. His father, Charles Edward "Ed" Snyder, worked as an executive recruiter. Marsha always nurtured her son's artistic side, buying him his first film camera. He has an older sister, Audrey. He also had an older brother, Sam, who died in a car accident when Snyder was a teenager.Snyder was raised as a Christian Scientist, and attended a summer camp in Harrison, Maine, run by the church.
He studied painting a year after high school at Heatherley School of Fine Art in England, although he had already begun filmmaking. Back in high school, Snyder struggled due to his dyslexia and made his first film there with the camera his mother bought him, using it to make an unflattering commentary about his school's administration that got him expelled. Afterward, Snyder attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. His classmates included fellow future Hollywood directors Michael Bay and Tarsem Singh. Despite being Indian, Singh also played a Nazi in a short film by Snyder. He graduated with a BFA in film in 1989.
The production notes for Snyder's first film Dawn of the Dead describes Snyder as "a comic book and horror film enthusiast in his youth".
Career
After graduating, Snyder directed commercials as well as music videos for ZZ Top and Morrissey, where he met his future wife Deborah, who was then a music producer. Sony bought Snyder to direct his near-feature length S.W.A.T.. Snyder would leave shortly after as he wanted the film to be rated R, and Clark Johnson would replace him soon after. Snyder directed "Respect" for Budweiser, which came out in February 2002. The 60-second commercial depicts a group of horses traveling toward the site of the 9/11 terror attacks to pay their respects to the victims with a bow.Snyder made his feature film debut with the remake of the horror film Dawn of the Dead, and scored a box office hit with the fantasy war film 300, adapted from writer-artist Frank Miller's Dark Horse Comics miniseries of the same name. His Warner Bros. film Watchmen was released on March 6, 2009, and grossed $185 million worldwide. His follow-up project/animation debut, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, was released on September 24, 2010. Snyder produced, co-wrote, and directed Sucker Punch, which was released on March 25, 2011. The film, based on a script written by Snyder and Steve Shibuya, was about a young woman in a mental hospital who fantasizes of escape with her fellow inmates.
He directed 2013's Man of Steel for Warner Bros., a reboot of the Superman franchise and the jumpstart to the DC Extended Universe and produced the prequel/sequel to 300, 300: Rise of an Empire.
During Comic Con 2013, Snyder announced that Batman and Superman would share the screen in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, released in 2016. Snyder directed, Cavill reprised his role as Superman, and Ben Affleck played Batman. Snyder directed Warner Bros.' 2017 Justice League, but he exited during post-production to deal with the death of his daughter, Autumn Snyder. His replacement was Joss Whedon.
On January 29, 2019, Snyder announced that he had signed on to helm Army of the Dead, a zombie heist thriller, for Netflix. Snyder directed and produced the film with his partner and wife, Deborah Snyder, via their newly rebranded production company, The Stone Quarry. His agreement with Netflix has since expanded into several Army of the Dead projects; Army of Thieves, a prequel released in 2021, and Planet of the Dead, a sequel to be created.
On May 20, 2020, Snyder announced that Zack Snyder's Justice League would be released on the streaming service HBO Max in 2021. The film was released on March 18, 2021, dedicated to the memory of his daughter Autumn.
In July 2021, Snyder was officially announced to be developing the film Rebel Moon for Netflix. It was inspired by Star Wars and the films of Akira Kurosawa. Filming began in April 2022 and lasted until November that year, with the project being developed as a two-part film. Snyder also produced and directed two episodes of Twilight of the Gods, an anime-style web series inspired by Norse mythology, for Netflix.
Future and potential projects
, Snyder was developing a King Arthur film, which he said would be a "faithful retelling" set during the American Gold rush era.Following Rebel Moon, Snyder will return to direct Planet of the Dead, a sequel to Army of the Dead. He also signed a first-look deal with Netflix.
In May 2021, it was reported that Snyder had been developing Horse Latitudes, a film about two war photographers since 2011, although the project was on hold while he works at Netflix. After a period of relative silence on the film, he mentioned to DC Cinematic Cast on September 13, 2024, that Horse Latitudes had found an investor. In August 2025, it's been retitled to The Last Photograph with Stuart Martin and Fra Fee joining the cast.
Snyder held the television rights to an adaptation of Black Kiss, a late-1980s comic by Howard Chaykin. Snyder wrote the pilot, but could not find any takers.
In June 2021, Snyder expressed interest in directing a science fiction film adaptation of the Adult Swim cartoon series Rick and Morty, feeling that such a film would be the closest project he could tackle to make a comedy film.
In a November 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Snyder stated that while he no longer had any interest in tackling superhero comic book adaptations in light of the DCEU continuity's conclusion with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, he would only consider returning for the DC Universe if James Gunn invited him back to direct a faithful adaptation of Miller's The Dark Knight Returns comic book. Gunn himself consulted Snyder about the looks of David Corenswet's Superman suit for Superman.
, Snyder is set to direct a new feature action film for Netflix, centered around the Los Angeles Police Department, co-writing the script with frequent collaborator Kurt Johnstad.
Blood and Ashes would have been the third film set in the world of 300. Snyder and Johnstad wrote the movie during the COVID-19 pandemic on request from Warner Bros, but Warner did not pick the project up. What started as the final piece of a trilogy became its own story as it developed, separate from the main plot of the franchise, but part of the same world. The film would have been a love story about Alexander the Great's relationship with Hephaestion during a time of war. It likely would have been a loose adaptation of the Alexander the Great segments from Frank Miller's graphic novel Xerxes. In 2023, the Stone Quarry gained the movie rights from Warner Bros.
In April 2025, it was reported that Snyder would be directing the film titled Brawler, a film about the UFC, with the involvement from Turki Al-Sheikh and Dana White. Snyder will write the screenplay alongside Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad.
Filmmaking
Style
Snyder often uses slow motion, particularly the technique of speed ramping, in and out of the fight scenes in his films. This differs from other directors who make multiple cuts and close-ups during a fight. A minute-long shot from 300 shows King Leonidas slaughtering his enemies, the camera zooming in and out to emphasize each kill and move Leonidas makes.Snyder said
The Netflix production Army of the Dead was a special project for Snyder as he served as his own cinematographer, as well as this being his first film shot digitally.