Hold onto your butts, #ReleaseTheSnyderCut faithful! The man himself, Zack Snyder, has confirmed that a “cut” of his “Justice League” exists. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean you’re ever going to see it.
As has been reported at length, Snyder was on hand for a panel at the weekend’s Director’s Cut event. And after he explained why Batman kills people and what would have happened in his “Justice League,” the filmmaker was there to do a meet and greet with fans. Of course, it wasn’t long before someone asked the director about the mythical Snyder Cut of “Justice League” that his fans have been ravenous for over the last year and a half.
While the video that was posted to Instagram isn’t the best quality, it’s clear that he says, “Sure, there’s a cut and it’s done…I have a cut. I have a bunch of them…it’s up to them.” The “them” in this quote can almost certainly be referring to the higher-ups at Warner Bros., who hired Joss Whedon to take over the film during heavy rewrites and reshoots after Snyder left the production.
However, as we alluded to at the beginning, while Snyder Cut folks will look at that as the smoking gun that means that WB is holding back some cut of “Justice League” that is ready to be released, the truth is, we’re no closer to having Snyder’s version of the film now as we were when Whedon took over in 2017.
We’ve said this before, but a film isn’t “done” once filming is complete. Post-production, especially on $200 million blockbusters, can take at least 6 months or more to complete. VFX, editing, sound design and mixing, and about a million other factors all have to come together to put a releasable “cut” of a film out to the public.
And sure, Snyder probably does have a cut of the film. But that’s nothing more than an assembly cut that doesn’t have finished VFX, finished sound, and all those other things that need to be polished before a major studio like Warner Bros. is going to release it to fans.
Do you know what’s worse than Joss Whedon’s “Justice League” in the minds of the studio? An unfinished, half-produced, Snyder Cut of the same film that is the lowest grossing film in their recovering superhero franchise.
For shits and giggles, let’s say that fully-produced “Justice League” film exists, made by Snyder. Would WB want to go back to that well and release it to the public? A public that is finally coming around to this “new era” of bright and colorful heroes like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam? Honestly, that’s the last thing they want to do. “Hey folks, remember that film you didn’t like the first time? Here’s round 2!”
Lastly, as we learned yesterday, Snyder had very definitive plans for the future of the DCEU that spanned multiple movies, well past “Justice League.” Releasing his cut of the film would likely feel like part one of a series that will never happen. Again, not a good business move for any studio.
So, we don’t begrudge the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut faithful for keeping the fire alive. But at some point, it’ll be two years since the film was released. Then three. Then four. And so on. At what point do we just embrace the films that WB is releasing and try to forget the “Justice League” debacle?
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