Anyone with a grain of interest in the superhero genre has likely heard about the Snyder Cut of 2017’s Justice League. The released version of the film did not fair well among critics and fans alike. The melding of Zack Snyder and Joss Weadon’s directorial styles did not present well to viewers. Since Justice League’s dismal release, Snyder was very vocal about studio intervention and outside sources affecting his vision of what he thought the movie should have been. His voice has led to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut trending on various social media platforms now and again since 2017. Now, the dreams of Zack Snyder and his curious fans have evidently been answered. HBO Max has recently announced that it will release The Snyder Cut in 2021. This leaves us all wondering, what exactly is it? Here at FandomWire, we’re going to go over everything we know about the infamous Snyder Cut.
What We Saw
When Justice League debuted in 2017, viewers saw a mash up of two very different visions. The bare bones of Zack Snyder’s dark and gritty tale of the DC Universe existed. But it was smashed together with Joss Whedon’s much more light hearted take. We saw characters that had already been establish begin to act drastically out of character. Due to the cutting and blending of two very different films, we saw scenes stitched together that didn’t really make a whole lot of sense. Several plot lines were left on the cutting room floor. Snyder’s three-and-a-half-hour cut was edited down to the two hour final cut we received. Snyder went on record stating that only “one fourth” of his actual vision remained in what we saw in Justice League. Here are some of the big changes that we know about.
Format
According to the Hollywood Reporter, there is currently a debate on how they’re going to distribute the Snyder Cut. Snyder has teased one of two options; a four hour director’s cut or a six episode “mini-series”. With how much Snyder has said was left on the cutting room floor, I’m not surprised by the length. But personally I’d prefer a mini-series over a 4 hour movie.
Characters
There has to be something to fill in all that extra screen time. To that end, Snyder has teased his fans with characters that hadn’t made it into the final cut. From the Ryan Choi iteration of the Atom to the true big baddie, Darkseid himself, a lot of key characters didn’t make it in to the film. Interestingly, Snyder has also teased two founding Justice League members as part of his cut: Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern (the latter who had a brief tease in the released version in an ancient flashback sequence). But the full scope of their potential involvement still remains clouded. Is there a good chance that the Emerald Knight or the Manhunter from Mars will have substantial screen time? Time will tell.
Snyder also announced that The Snyder Cut will receive upwards of a $20 million budget to finish VFX sequences for scenes that did not make it into the original film. With the missing characters so far announced having abilities that require strong VFX, maybe we could see a few good scenes with our resident Martian shapeshifter. Let’s just hope we don’t see another fully CGI suit for Green Lantern.
Stinger
Recently, Deathstroke actor Joe Manganiello tweeted something that surprised many of his fans. Manganiello suggested that Snyder’s end credits scene is not the same stinger we all saw at the end of the theatrical release of Justice League. What we saw originally was Deathstroke approaching Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). Luther suggests they create their own Justice League. That stinger would have been great had each character already had their own movie, and as such, their own villain to contend with.
However, since the only villains to have graced the DCEU at the time were General Zod (Man of Steel), Ares (Wonder Woman), and Lex Luthor himself, it didn’t really make much sense at all. One could argue that Suicide Squad debuted the year prior. But aside from Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) those were mainly Batman rogues. With that said, the original stinger fell flat rather than inducing hype for the next installment. Hopefully we see a bit more intriguing end credits scene this time around.
Also read: Best Bad Movies: The Best Of The Worst
Why does it matter?
With how poorly received the original Justice League was, many people believe it would take a miracle to salvage it. However, core cast members, Henry Cavill (Superman), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), and Jason Momoa (Aquaman) have all stood behind Snyder’s vision for the film. They’ve been vocal on their social medias in support of the release of the cut and have been some of the core reasons #ReleaseTheSnyderCut has trended as often as it has. Now, Zack Snyder proved that with a little be of persistence and perseverance, anything can truly happen.
“I want to thank HBO Max and Warner Brothers for this brave gesture of supporting artists and allowing their true visions to be realized. Also a special thank you to all of those involved in the SnyderCut movement for making this a reality.”
In response to the sheer gleeful outpour of the news, Robert Greenblatt, chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment released this statement:
“Since I got here 14 months ago, the chant to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut has been a daily drumbeat in our offices and inboxes. Well, the fans have asked, and we are thrilled to finally deliver. At the end of the day, it really is all about them and we are beyond excited to be able to release Zack’s ultimate vision for this film in 2021. This could never have happened if it weren’t for the hard work and combined efforts of the teams at HBO Mx and Warner Bros. Pictures.”
(source: HBO Max)
The Snyder Cut will debut on HBO Max in 2021. The home of Justice League will launch May 27 and will host many DC Comics and WarnerMedia brand exclusives. Snyder has already received congratulations from two of his stars, Henry Cavill and Jason Momoa. Their excitement for the release is sure to draw up hype from his legions of fans.
