Zack and Deborah Snyder Praise the Animation Heights of ‘Twilight of the Gods’

Among the many animated projects Netflix unveiled at its jam-packed press extravaganza today was the new Norse mythology-themed show Twilight of the Gods, created, exec produced and directed by Zack Snyder and exec produced by Deborah Snyder. The Snyders were on hand at the event to introduce the trailer and talk about their first big animated venture, which is a collaboration with Oscar-winning French studio Xilam (I Lost My Body).

“Twilight of the Gods was a show that we’ve been working on for quite some time — years in the making actually,” said Zack Snyder, the acclaimed helmer of celebrated features such as 300, Watchmen, Man of Steel, Justice League and Netflix’s Rebel Moon. “I’ve always been obsessed with Norse mythology. I love mythology in general, and so the idea of actually being able to dig into this rich tapestry of heroes and gods was an incredible opportunity for both of us. And this show is really a story. It’s a story about love and revenge, and it just takes us across this massive and beautiful landscape.”

The latest description of the show reads:

In a mythical world of great battles, great deeds and great despair,  Leif, a mortal King, is saved on the battlefield by Sigrid, an iron-willed warrior with whom he falls in love. On their wedding night, Sigrid and Leif survive a wrath of terror from Thor which sets them — and a crew of crusaders — on an against all odds and merciless mission for vengeance.  This heroic story of love, loss and revenge, is a journey to Hell and beyond… across fantastical lands, battlefields fierce and bloody, and wars waged against Gods and demons.

Snyder told Animation Magazine that he really enjoys the limitless possibilities animation offers him. “You don’t sketch an idea and have someone tell you that it’s too expensive, and you can’t do it which happens to me all the time,” he says. “Every days was just an exciting adventure with our amazing team of artists. Animation also allows you a lot more control and you can funnel material straight from the design stage to animatics.”

“Zack went to school for fine art before he went to Art Center and I feel like he has always loved drawing and storyboarding and all of that is so much in the DNA of animation,” said Snyder’s frequent collaborator Deborah Snyder (Wonder Woman, Watchmen, Rebel Moon) who produces the series. “We started working on the project over four years ago. We had an in-house team of about 48 artists who developed all the characters their worlds. We were lucky to be able to work with this group of very global artists and even more lucky to have Xilam do the animation through layout and compositing. We know have this language that you can be on these Zoom calls and it’s almost like they’re in the next room. The talent pool has been opened up, and we can work with people all over the world, even the actors were spread out in 23 different countries, some of them spread out in their closets with blankets and microphones. It was a fun experiment to do it during the pandemic, and it worked out really well.”

“Initially we embarked on a long, exhaustive process of design as we searched for the right style to interpret the story. The limitations of 2D, hand-drawn animation really helped us focus on a style of sophisticated fantasy, something that is complex through its simplicity, which is apt for a story set in the realm of adult animation,” added Zack. “I am excited for audiences to expand these adult animation concept for a broader audience and have people go on the fantastical, incredible journeys with these characters and really enjoy this level of animation and visual design.”

Deborah adds, “We are also really thrilled to be introducing a new generation to traditional Norse mythologies as the stories are rich and archetypal and to have the chance to reinvent these characters in a way we haven’t seen before.”

Twilight of the Gods is co-created by Zack Snyder, Jay Oliva and Eric Carrasco and executive produced by Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Wesley Coller and Jay Oliva.  The animation house is Xilam Animation. Zack Snyder directs the first and final episodes, while additional directors include Jay Oliva and Andrew Tamandl with Tim Divar and Dave Hartman. The voice talent includes Sylvia Hoeks, Stuart Martin, Pilou Asbaek, John Noble, Paterson Joseph, Rahul Kohli and Jamie Clayton.