Zack Snyder Wants Everyone To Know He Doesn’t Have A Right-Wing Political Agenda: “I Vote Democrat!”

Typically, when talking about blockbusters featuring zombies and superheroes, no one really questions the filmmaker’s political agenda. But for whatever reason, when people watch Zack Snyder films, whether it’s “Batman v. Superman,” “Army of the Dead,” or even “Sucker Punch,” the filmmaker’s political leanings eventually get brought into question. Many critics point to certain tropes, scenes, shots, or moments of dialogue to show that Snyder has embedded a right-wing undercurrent to his features. But the filmmaker himself would like to put an end to that discussion once and for all.

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Speaking to The Guardian, while answering questions from various fans and colleagues, Zack Snyder is confronted with the question about his political affiliation. The question comes from his “Dawn of the Dead” star, Sarah Polley, who asks him to talk about the insistence that Snyder’s films have a “right-wing political undercurrent.” Judging by his response, this is clearly a discussion that doesn’t make any sense to the filmmaker.

“I vote Democrat!” said Snyder. “I’m a true lover of individual rights. I’ve always been a super-strong advocate of women’s rights and a woman’s right to choose, and I’ve always been surrounded by powerful women. And, of course, I’m a huge advocate for the rights of all ethnicities and every walk of life.”

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He continued, “I would say I’m a pretty liberal guy. I want to make sure everyone’s heard and everyone feels included. I don’t have a right-wing political agenda. People see what they want to see. For me, that was not certainly the point.”

Unfortunately for Snyder, there are some reasons why people impose a right-wing agenda on his filmmaking. Though with these new comments, perhaps it’s not justified, as the director is matter-of-factly denying it completely.

READ MORE: Zack Snyder Is Putting ‘The Fountainhead’ Film On Hold For Now “So That Everyone Won’t Freak Out”

However, when you speak openly about wanting to make a film adaptation of Ayn Rand’sThe Fountainhead,” which is used by many Libertarians and right-wing political thinkers as a pseudo-gospel about the importance of individual rights and the desire for personal wealth over the good of the greater society, it’s hard to rationalize that with the idea that you’re actually a “pretty liberal guy.” Of course, it’s important to say that being a fan of a particular book or film or another piece of art shouldn’t automatically qualify as proof of your political alliances.

Another reason, recently at least, why Snyder gets lumped into the “right-wing” is with the toxicity of the Snyder Cut social media campaign. While again, it’s important to say that not every aspect of the campaign was bad (and as Snyder often points out, they raised a lot of money for suicide prevention charities), the filmmaker is seen as the figurehead for the movement that sometimes did venture into the world of racism, sexism, and general bullying. And though Snyder obviously doesn’t support that sort of toxic fandom, over the course of the years-long campaign, he didn’t necessarily go out of his way to stop it either, often talking about how he enjoyed watching his fans cause issues for Warner Bros.

READ MORE: Zack Snyder Says Working On SnyderCut With Warner Was “Torture”; “I Don’t Know Why I’m Such A F*cking Pain In Their Ass”

Obviously, neither of those issues have anything to do with the content of his films, which have been analyzed for years for their political messaging, but it does show why the general discussion around the filmmaker has been more politically charged in recent years.

“Army of the Dead” is available now in select theaters and will arrive on Netflix on May 21.