With "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" opening this week, director Zack Snyder is looking back on "Man of Steel," the film that led into the massive DC movie. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Snyder spoke about the fan reaction to Superman's portrayal in "Man of Steel."

"I was surprised with the fervency of the defense of the concept of Superman," said Snyder. "I feel like they were taking it personally that I was trying to grow up their character." Snyder also recalled being told that his film had more collateral damage than any other movie in recent memory, which was a claim that surprised him.

"I went, really? And I said, well, what about ['Star Wars: The Force Awakens']?" said Snyder. "In 'Star Wars' they destroy five planets with billions of people on them. That's gotta be one of the highest death toll movies in history, the new 'Star Wars' movie, if you just do the math."

Snyder also looked even further back into his filmography to his first collaboration with DC Comics characters -- 2009's "Watchmen." That film, with adapted Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' landmark series, also serves as a predecessor to "BvS."

"It's all about the 'why' of superheroes: the political why, the religious why, the philosophical why," explained Snyder. "Once you've absorbed that material, there's no way it doesn't resonate with you, especially when you're dealing with characters like Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman, who are basically the trinity. In some ways, this will be, I hope at it's really best, the impossible version of 'Watchmen'."

"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" opens in theaters on March 25.