IE: Alan Moore was right all along (what a shock).

people need to stop making Gandalf coded wizards and make Moore coded wizards

What’s sad is that it almost seems like his immediate instinct is that he has to phone in and fake that optimism because that’s the limits of the genre he’s working in. Personally I hope he does some soul searching and realizes that a cynical turn for his voice is entirely acceptable and not necessarily a decline.

Agreed. I’m not pro-being cynical, but I am pro-whatever voice is. If your voice is cynical, then be cynical, but be authentically so. Be authentic and execute on the authenticity well.