When Hashtags Become a Cult | The SnyderVerse Fandom’s Downfall
There was a time when hashtags meant something. When a single, focused message could unite a fandom, inspire action, and achieve the impossible.
#ReleaseTheSnyderCut was one of the most impressive fan driven campaigns of the modern era. It rallied people together for a shared purpose… to see an artistic vision completed.
It raised money for suicide prevention through AFSP. It pushed a studio to listen.
And impressively it worked.
But what was once a movement has now mutated into something much darker, messier, and ultimately… self destructive.
At its peak, the Snyder fandom had a unified front.
#ReleaseTheSnyderCut wasn’t just a slogan… it was a mission.
The Hashtag Explosion | From One Banner to a Hundred Shouts
But over the years, that unity splintered into dozens of hashtags
#RestoreTheSnyderVerse, #SellSnyderVerseToNetflix, #FireJamesGunn, #FireZaslav, #WalletsClosed, and dozens more.
This flood of hashtags isn’t a sign of passion. It’s a sign of chaos.
Each faction within the fandom demands something different.
Some want Snyder to return for two movies, some want a full cinematic universe restored, others want Warner Bros. sold off entirely, and some are screaming at James Gunn to resign from a job he’s barely had time to build.
It’s no longer a movement. It’s noise.
And noise doesn’t create change. It kills momentum.
The Hypocrisy Problem | From “Artistic Integrity” to Online Bullying
The SnyderCut movement was once rooted in a noble message of artistic integrity.
Fans rallied to let Zack Snyder finish what he started. They tied that rallying cry to AFSP, an organization fighting for suicide prevention. They invoked compassion.
Now? Many of those same accounts spend their days screaming into the void with hashtags like #FireJamesGunn and #FireZaslav
Calling for people to lose their jobs over creative differences.
That’s not cheering for artistic integrity. That’s bullying.
And it’s especially grim when you remember that the movement was tied to suicide prevention.
One of the biggest factors contributing to suicide is harassment and bullying.
So, explain how harassing executives, filmmakers, and even other fans fits that mission. (Spoiler: it doesn’t.)
#WalletsClosed | The Hollow Threat
One of the most absurd hashtags to come out of this mess is #WalletsClosed
The big “boycott everything” declaration.
The irony?
Zack Snyder no longer works for Warner Bros. He’s off building his own universe elsewhere.
Boycotting WBD or DC movies doesn’t help Zack Snyder. It doesn’t bring back the SnyderVerse. It just makes grown adults look like they’re throwing a temper tantrum because they didn’t get the toy they wanted.
It’s toxic. It’s childish. And yes it’s extremely pathetic.
Blaming the Wrong People
The endless barrage of #FireJamesGunn and #FireZaslav hashtags is another prime example of the movement’s rot.
These people weren’t the ones behind the 2017 studio decisions that broke Snyder’s plans. They weren’t the ones who meddled with the movie.
Yet they’re the ones getting attacked daily because a group of adults refuses to move forward.
Gunn and Zaslav are trying to fix a decade of bad management. To do that, you don’t go backward… you build forward.
And if these fans cared half as much about artistic integrity as they claim, they’d at least respect the new creatives building something fresh.
#UsUnited | What Happened?
#UsUnited was a moment. A rare, beautiful one. A time when fans stood together, raised money for a cause, and supported something bigger than themselves.
Today, the hashtags are fragmented, angry, contradictory. #SellSnyderVerseToNetflix, #SellWBDToNetflix, #MakeZSJL2, #BringBackBatfleck
It’s an incoherent wish list, not a strategy. Nobody even agrees on what they want anymore.
And let’s be honest… no, Christopher Nolan is not secretly waiting to “run DC.” No, Zack Snyder isn’t plotting a stealth takeover. And no, a studio sale doesn’t mean “the SnyderVerse is definitely coming back.” They said that during the Discovery merger too.
Entitlement on Steroids
This isn’t just fandom passion. It’s entitlement. Some of the most aggressive corners of this fandom have become one of the most toxic forces in pop culture discourse.
The level of delusion… yes, delusion, in believing they can bully an entire studio into reversing a decade old decision is staggering.
And the sad part? Zack Snyder doesn’t exactly discourage it. He benefits from this fervent, cult like loyalty. He may not direct the toxicity, but he also doesn’t stop it.
And that silence speaks volumes.
Movements Need Purpose, Not Noise
The Snyder movement proved what fandoms can do when they focus their energy on one goal. But today, that energy is fractured, aggressive, and self defeating.
Hashtags can build a movement or they can bury it. And the endless stream of “Fire this, Sell that, Boycott everything” is doing the latter.
You can’t claim to fight for artistic integrity while simultaneously trying to strip other artists of theirs.
You can’t claim to support mental health causes while harassing people online.
You can’t call it a movement if all it does is scream into the void.
