Could this really be happening? If the legendary and mysterious Zack Snyder cut of Justice League does actually get released, this story will be worthy of a movie itself. Fans who were disappointed with the “Frankensteined” Joss Whedon version of Justice League back in 2017 have been demanding it for a very long time.
Our sister pub, Reel Chicago, even told the story of a YouTube influencer Itzmoe who held (admittedly unsuccessful) protest outside of Warner Bros in January of 2018, demanding the studio release Snyder’s original vision. If you remember, Snyder stepped away from the project after his daughter tragically committed suicide in March 2017. Joss Whedon was brought in and with millions of WB dollars, reshot approximately 80% of the film. This also led to the infamous “mustache-gate” with Henry Cavill.
The actor was shooting Mission Impossible: Fallout and could not shave his mustache. Soooo, WB digitally removed it and the effect was well, awful.
Now, a new report from DCEU Mythic claims that the plan is for Snyder’s version of Justice League to stream on HBO Max, and not DC Universe as some previously speculated.
The original report came from The Wrap, which reported that Snyder had held a screening of the film for executives from Warner Bros.
If the film does stream on HBO Max (which makes sense from a content standpoint) it is unclear if the version will be finished (would Warner Bros, really put money into a film that has already been released?) or a limited series or even a documentary.
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There is actually precedence that Warner Bros would release a working print as they did with the Richard Donner version of Superman Two. That film was a mixture of what Donner had filmed, before being fired by the Salkinds, with green screen and unfinished effects. A theatrical release seems unlikely even if theaters were not closed down to due to the pandemic.
Tomorrow, Snyder is holding a Man of Steel viewing party on his Vero Channel. It’s predicted if he were to make an announcement about the film it will happen here.
Warner Bros. is 100% aware that the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement isn’t going anywhere, and until they release that version of Snyder’s film, the backlash is likely to continue.
Whatever the case may be, streaming it on HBO Max makes sense as it, will drive a lot of subscribers to the new streaming service who may have otherwise chosen to overlook the platform. It’s a PR win, even though it would mean Warner Bros. was admitting a mistake was made.
And the extended cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is superior to the one released in theaters.
Of course, one look at the cgi-removed mustache from Cavill is all anyone really needs to realize that.
Something is legit coming our way with Justice League, bringing a near three-year journey to an end after Joss Whedon’s Frankenstein-ed version was released in theaters and panned by fans and critics.
The only question which remains is — is the Snyder cut any good?
The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.
