Zack Snyder’s recent animation series, Twilight of the Gods, is a dynamic reimagination of Norse mythology that features an exciting blend of adventure, romance, and revenge. The show transports viewers across mystical realms, pitting gods against demons in an epic struggle that breathes new life into legendary tales of the Norse pantheon. Anime Trending sat down with Zack Snyder alongside Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller, the executive producers of Twilight of the Gods, to uncover the creative process and their innovative approach to adapting Norse mythology, the intricacies of the narrative, and the challenges of bringing these ancient tales to life in a fresh animated format.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
What drew you to Norse mythology and creating Twilight of the Gods? What are your favorite aspects of mythology that were incorporated into Twilight of the Gods?
Zack Snyder: I was drawn to Norse mythology because I’ve always been a lover of myths. Whether it be Greek or any kind of mythological pre-Christian gods, I’ve always been fascinated with them. When we asked, “[about the possibility of doing] a Norse mythology series, I was like, “Hell, yes! That would be awesome.”
There were a lot of things that I really wanted to get in there. I’m a big fan of the three iterations of Odin, and I just think there’s a lot of interesting and weird stuff that the Norse gods are into. They do a lot of weird shit, which is cool. I really was endeavoring to get all that kind of funky stuff in the series because I just think it’s so fun for an audience to experience something they thought they already knew about. Something like, “Oh, yeah, I know about Loki. I know Thor, of course.” But we were like, “No, you don’t know them that well. They’re weirdos, and here’s why!” That was a lot of fun for us.
Awesome! And do you have a favorite character design, both for the mortals and the gods that were used in the show?
Zach Snyder: I love Sigrid’s design. She was really the Rosetta Stone of our project. She was the first character that we designed and paved the way forward for everybody else. Sigrid’s design is the keystone to everything.
One of the other unique aspects of Sigrid is her dynamic with Leif in the show. Typically, a revenge story usually involves one person, but in this case, we have a revenge story focused on a couple as the main drivers. What were some of the unique challenges in crafting the story surrounding Sigrid and Leif?
Zack Snyder: [The most fresh and interesting aspect of this] was in the middle of this revenge story, there is a love story as well. The combination of these aspects makes the stakes of the revenge story weirdly higher because their relationship is also at risk, which we come to value over the course of the series.
So in a normal revenge story, the main character is so obsessed by revenge that by the end of the story, the stakes end up being lower. What’s really smart about Twilight of the Gods is that the stakes are ever-increasing because as we go, we really see that Leif is so desperately in love with Sigrid that he would do anything for her. But by doing anything, it actually brings Sigrid closer to what would be her eventual demise, so Leif’s in a difficult place. Meanwhile, we as an audience don’t know what we’re rooting for. Are we rooting for Sigrid to get her revenge? Or are we rooting for her to just say, “Fuck it!” and go back to her village? To stop chasing Thor around because he’s not really going to be easy to beat?
Deborah Snyder: Also, you pick up all these additional characters along the way, and they have their own motivation for why they are there and what they want. It keeps things interesting as you start to find out more about them, even for Loki regarding his motivations. When we finally find out why he’s doing the things he’s doing, it’s surprising! I don’t think anybody is expecting that he’s doing this for his family, so you see Loki in a different light because of that. That’s what I think is exciting about the series as you move forward and you’re getting these breadcrumbs of information — maybe your point of view changes on things that you thought were a certain way and you come to find out maybe they’re not [what they seem].
Wesley Coller: Yeah, I think there’s a precariousness in it because so many of the motivations point in similar directions, but their end games are all different and the trajectory of those individual paths might not all hit the same targets. As you keep watching, it leaves you waiting to see which of those paths will take precedence over the other. I think as an audience member, it’s an enjoyable yet precarious watch to try and figure out how those are all ultimately going to interact with one another.
What are the themes or messages from Twilight of the Gods that resonated the most with you? And what do you hope will resonate the most with viewers?
Zack Snyder: Well, I guess for me, Sigrid is underestimated in a lot of ways by Thor and by the gods themselves. I love the idea that the gods in the end unknowingly have this envy for morals and that the mortal life that we consider so fragile, because there’s meaning behind it. Mortal life has a beginning, middle, and an end. It has a point, whereas an immortal life becomes episodic and never ends. So, it doesn’t have a point or a “why” to it. It almost becomes monotonous in a way. I do love that in the end of Twilight of the Gods, it’s sort of like pro-human I guess, or a pro-mortality story, which is cool.
Deborah Snyder: For me, I think it’s the hero’s journey. I think it’s seeing all these characters and their flaws and seeing them kind of change throughout. I think that’s always a theme that intrigues me. It’s a common theme in the work that we choose to do.
Wesley Coller: Yeah, I agree. I think for me, thematically, each one of these characters are looking for vengeance along the way. I like to think that somewhere along the way, redemption finds its way into some of the nooks and crannies that are left there.
Thank you, it’s been a pleasure!
Twilight of the Gods is now streaming on Netflix. Special thanks to Netflix and team for this interview opportunity.
