Here’s a question: if you don’t wind up liking the 151-minute "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice," are you really going to want to sit through a half-hour longer, R-rated, "Ultimate Cut" (as director Zack Snyder is calling it "because to me it’s a deeper dive into that world and there are storylines in there that get fleshed out by the longer version")?. Well, you’ll have a better idea after you see the film this weekend. But as for the content of that extended jam, all we really know so far is that Jena Malone‘s role will be restored, and essentially, it’s going to be a bit more violent, adding the stuff that veered action scenes away from a PG-13 rating. But speaking with Collider, Snyder has detailed what scenes we’re going to see a bit more off on home video.
**Spoilers ahead** For the most part, it looks like lots of little moments are being popped back in for home video. “There’s a little bit of action, there’s a little bit of violence that we trimmed out for the MPAA that we put back. The Batman warehouse rescue, there’s a couple shots of Doomsday that were too intense. Then there’s a little bit longer ending, sort of the ending sequence, and the opening of the movie, the North Africa sequence is really much different,” Snyder said.
If anything, the ending sequence could use far less, as it feels like ‘Dawn Of Justice’ wraps up at least three times before it finally ends. However, more of the North Africa sequence involving Lois Lane, considering how important it is laying the groundwork of change in the public perception of Superman, and also given how confusingly it’s presented in the theatrical version, could be a good thing. That warehouse rescue is an intense one, so more footage is welcome, while Doomsday….well, I don’t see how anyone is going to be asking for more.
As for why he cut down the movie, Snyder is well aware it’s long enough as it is. “It was really just a function of time, to be honest. Because the movie’s long now, long-ish—I don’t think it’s long, but when you get over two and a half hours the studio starts getting nervous. I’m not James Cameron who’s like ‘No it’s three hours, suck it!’, which is cool by the way. I just wanted to try and get it to a length that is work-able,” he said.
‘Batman v Superman’ arrives tomorrow. Below, check out a featurette with producer Deborah Snyder.
