Empowered Fandom Is Now Demanding A 4-Hour Cut Of 'Revenge Of The Sith': It "Is Rightfully Ours"

When Zack Snyder announced that his cut of “Justice League” is getting an HBO Max release in 2021, fans rejoiced. This proved that studios listened to the demands of people on Twitter, as they used #ReleaseTheSnyderCut for more than two years to show their support for the filmmaker. At the time, some worried that fandom would lose its mind, drunk with power, and start to demand other studios release unseen Director’s Cuts of films. Some scoffed at that silly idea. Fans aren’t that power-hungry, would they? Well, the answer to that is “yes, yes they are.”

READ MORE: ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ Raises Questions About Fandom & The Future Of Film

It started fairly simple, with fans turning their attention to David Ayer and his Director’s Cut of “Suicide Squad.” In fact, in the week since that “Justice League” announcement, Ayer has kept the discussion alive, practically begging WB for a chance to release his vision of that superhero film. But now, the fans are truly losing their minds. (And yes, I’m speaking in generalizations, and I’m well aware that not everyone falls into this category. But you know who you are.)

READ MORE: David Ayer Says His Version Of ‘Suicide Squad’ “Has Never Been Seen”

Recently, a new petition started on Change.org, with “Star Wars” fans demanding Lucasfilm release a 4-hour cut of George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.” What 4-hour cut, you ask? Well, that’s a good question, as the cut of the film that is referenced as definitely existing has never been confirmed by anyone with knowledge of the film. But that isn’t deterring the thousands of people who have signed the petition.

It’s difficult to read the petition and not think that the person who started the petition is playing a prank, but judging by everything associated with the movement, it appears to be sincere, which is scary:

“The original ‘Star Wars: Revenge of The Sith’ (2005) cut was over four hours long, and we think that George Lucas should do the right thing and give the fans what we deserve and what is rightfully ours. We love democracy, and we hope he does too. By signing this you are letting your voices be heard. If this petition does go viral, then we will have unlimited power and if George does the right thing then he would be strong and wise and we would all be very proud of him. This whole operation is our idea and we need to ensure that it is done. We will proclaim ah, victory when we achieve our goal. May the force be with you all and have faith.”

READ MORE: Mark Hamill Is Officially Done With ‘Star Wars’: “They Don’t Need Me”

Honestly, that reads almost as more of a threat than a request. Actually, it’s definitely not a request, as the petition states that fans “deserve” the version of the film that “is rightfully ours.” And it urges Lucas to “do the right thing.” Not sure who penned this, but it definitely sounds like something from the mind of the current President of the United States. Not a good look, at all.

So, while that petition seems absolutely bonkers, considering the cut of the film that is referenced has never been confirmed to exist and George Lucas has no power at Lucasfilm anymore, it has still drawn nearly 15,000 supporters and counting.

LISTEN: Josh Trank Talks ‘Capone,’ ‘Fantastic Four’ Failures & Tom Hardy Saving His Life [Deep Focus Podcast]

Another bit of proof that shows how #ReleaseTheSnyderCut fandom has gone a bit crazy is the fact that fans are actually now asking Josh Trank to go back and release his version of “Fantastic Four.” Obviously, the “Fantastic Four” story resembles the “Justice League” drama, without the personal tragedy, but whereas Snyder proved himself to be the supposed architect of the DCEU, with “Justice League” being his magnum opus, Trank’s “Fantastic Four” was just the reboot of a superhero franchise that had a decent following but seemed fairly inconsequential even at the time. But hey, fans will do what fans do. And right now, fans want all the Director’s Cuts!

Thankfully, Trank nipped this demand right in the bud by saying, “No need” to a Twitter follower saying they were going to use their newfound empowerment to demand a Director’s Cut. So, it would appear that we don’t have to worry about “Fantastic Four” getting its own hashtag, just yet.