Earlier this year, HBO Max released Zack Snyder's Justice League, the long-demanded original director's cut of 2017's Justice League. Snyder had been removed from the project, partly due to a family tragedy, partly due to Warner Brothers losing faith in him after he'd directed 2013's Superman cinematic reboot Man of Steel and 2016's controversial (and under performing) Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The 2017 version was a result of retooling by director Joss Whedon into a studio-mandated 2-hour version, including credits. (Whedon was later revealed to have acted unacceptably with the cast, but that's a different matter.)
The 2017 version is an uneven mix of two directors' styles, but still tells a generally complete story, though lacking character depth, but then as it featured Ben Affleck's Batman and Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman (who had featured in her first solo film earlier that year) recruiting Jason Momoa's Aquaman, Ezra Miller's Flash, and Ray Fisher's Cyborg, and also squeezes in a resurrection of Henry Cavill's Superman, two hours was hardly enough time to tell a meaningful story much less have a lot of character development.
Former director Zack Snyder shortly began teasing how his version differed and also showed off behind the scenes photos on social media, adding fervor to a social media campaign demanding for the release of "the Snyder Cut." And in 2020, Warner Brothers, now owned by AT&T, announced they were allowing Snyder to complete his cut in a 4 hour version to be released on HBO Max, their big company-wide streaming service.
However, the release has come and gone. I haven't watched the Snyder Cut, despite being a subscriber of HBO Max since Day 1. Recently, the release of the Snyder Cut was announced for 4K UHD and standard Blu-Ray in North America. I do not intend to purchase a copy. I own many other DC Comics-based film and television properties on DVD, Blu-Ray and UHD, but I don't own Man of Steel or Batman v Superman. I do own the 2017 version of Justice League, though I haven't watched it since seeing it in the theater. Here's why I'm not checking out Zack Snyder's Justice League.
It's basically the same story as the 2017 version. At twice the length.
I've listened to reviews of the Snyder Cut that break down the story and appreciate that the new version fleshes out many of the then-newcomers to the DC Cinematic Universe: we see more of the lives of Barry Allen and Arthur Curry, and Victor Stone gets a welcome fleshing out of his story and character. That said, while we get more, and it's not unimportant, ultimately the story is an extended and alternate version of the 2017 version. Steppenwolf arrives on Earth to collect the Mother Boxes on a mission for Darkseid, the Justice League forms to prevent him from succeeding, staving off an invasion of Earth from Apokolips. During the course of events, the League uses one of the Mother Boxes to revive Superman after his death in Batman v Superman, who is initially confused about who he is until he remembers, thanks to Lois Lane, and ultimately joins the League in their final battle, giving them a winning edge. Snyder's version offers twice the runtime for the same story.
I'm not saying I wanted the Snyder Cut to be two hours, but Snyder's DC offerings haven't been known for the best pacing. Batman v Superman was two and a half hours, but still had incomplete plot points that were better fleshed out in a home video "Ultimate Edition" that added an extra half hour. Basically, Snyder seems like he could use input from someone who gets that less is more.
It rewards a toxic fanbase.
The "Release the Snyder Cut" social media push at first glance seems to be a remarkable push to get a director's creative version released. That'd generally be fine. However, supporters used the hashtag on just about every DC or Warner Brothers social media post, even people who'd have no say in the matter found themselves with #releasethesnydercut comments. New DC movies seemed to be ignored by these supporters.
With the COVID-19 pandemic and HBO Max needing new content, AT&T decided to make the much-demanded Snyder Cut happen: most of it was already shot, what would need to be shot could be done with skeleton crews, and visual effects and editing could be completed safely.
But were the fans satisfied? No.
A major victim recently has been the upcoming The Batman, yet another reboot of DC's Dark Knight. First were major rumors that director Matt Reeves and star Robert Pattinson were at odds and either were ready to quit. Another rumor was that Pattinson was caught having sex with Catwoman actress Zoe Kravitz in costume. Both of these have been debunked, especially with Pattinson being offered development deals with Warner Brothers. Now there's fan demand to cancel The Batman and instead make a Batman movie starring Ben Affleck. As Affleck only featured as Batman in Snyder's films (and made cameos in 2016's Suicide Squad and 2017's Wonder Woman), it's pretty clear where these fans would've been coming from. Especially with the social media hashtag that replaced #releasethesnydercut: #restorethesnyderverse.
To his credit, Zack Snyder has openly supported DC Comics-based movies continuing without him and is ready to move on to other projects. He even surprised a certain YouTube account with less than inclusive views by speaking out against hatred against Asian-American people while making a guest appearance on their live stream. He seems to be a pretty good guy. Unfortunately, his fans don't seem to be following in his footsteps.
It teases a future for DC movies that isn't going to happen.
The Snyder Cut adds in Martian Manhunter as a surprise additional hero and teases a future inspired by DC's Injustice universe, but the most recent goings on don't seem to be going there now. The currently filming The Flash movie seems to be inspired by the Flashpoint comics event and will be used as a way to offer a reboot to the DC movie universe, likely even establishing a multiverse. If the multiverse pans out, it'll offer a way to make both versions of Justice League canon, while probably not really acknowledging either.
Warner Brothers has had a lot of leadership changes, and with word that they're being merged with Discovery, Inc., looks like there's more to come. The people who put Snyder in charge of the DC movies are gone and they're now trying to pick up the pieces and find ways to keep going. Aquaman and Joker both grossed over a billion dollars each, outperforming any of Snyder's films. They don't see a need for Snyder or his vision.
I will give the Snyder era credit for finally moving Warner Brothers past having DC Comics based films that center on just Superman and Batman. We've gotten Shazam and Birds of Prey, two of my favorite DC films. Maybe someday we'll even get a big screen live action Elongated Man.
While I can give Snyder respect, I don't feel the need to personally engage with his DC films more than I already have. If you enjoy them, that's great. I'd encourage you to go ahead and keep enjoying them. But I'd rather move on, I hope the best days of DC Comics characters in film are still ahead.
