Justice League: The Snyder Cut ANNOUNCED - Release Coming 2021
A hardfought victory for social media pressure groups...
Remember when they all said it didn't exist? Remember when fans were told that it didn't matter how much you protested, how many petitions you signed or how many hashtags you started? Well, score one for perservernce.
Because the mythical Snyder Cut of Justice League is not only real but it's going to be finished and released on HBO Max in 2021.
As per rumours that broke online over the weekend, Zack Snyder just confirmed the project's release in a stream heard around the world. And it's going to have some serious connotations, depending on where you stand on the underlying issue.
That aside for now, Snyder announced the news on a live Q&A, following a virtual screening of the horribly under-appreciated Man Of Steel...
Snyder's involvement in Justice League previously ended in 2016 during post-production at which point Joss Whedon came in and changed a fair amount on the road to the film making $650m worldwide and being roundly called a flop. Including by Snyder's DCEU fans.
We should now get to see a completely different version of the film, which will either prove the loudest fans correct in their assertion that Snyder's vision was always better or will do the opposite to a smug round of applause from naysayers.
Here's what Snyder had to say in an official press release:
“I want to thank HBO Max and Warner Brothers for this brave gesture of supporting artists and allowing their true visions to be realized. Also a special thank you to all of those involved in the SnyderCut movement for making this a reality,”
Warners boss Robert Greenblatt said this comes at the end of a sustained campaign to get the film released:
"Since I got here 14 months ago, the chant to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut has been a daily drumbeat in our offices and inboxes. Well, the fans have asked, and we are thrilled to finally deliver. At the end of the day, it really is all about them and we are beyond excited to be able to release Zack’s ultimate vision for this film in 2021. This could never have happened if it weren’t for the hard work and combined efforts of the teams at HBO Max and Warner Bros. Pictures.”
Without the fans, this could never have happened. Unfortunately, that comes with some dangerous connotations that will be discussed virulently in the coming days and weeks. Should fandom pressure be cowed to? Well, if the film they pressured for turns out to be better, then why not?
Let's just hope it doesn't empower the more toxic element who took it upon themselves to decry everyone involved in The Batman as traitors and scabs for besmirching Ben Affleck's legacy as Batman. Time will tell on that front.
Let's hope it all turns out positively, though, for all our sakes.
Quite HOW it's released remains to be seen with both a four hour cut and a 6 episode miniseries both discussed immediately. The latter would be better and that does seem to be the hint.
For now, Snyder is assembling his team - most of his original postproduction team to score, cut, add new and finish old effects sequences and possibly even bring back the cast to record some more necessary pieces. Snyder spoke to THR as well as his stream:
"It will be an entirely new thing, and, especially talking to those who have seen the released movie, a new experience apart from that movie. You probably saw one-fourth of what I did."
So there's definitely the footage, then. And the end result really could be a completely different film. Which, let's face it, would not be a bad thing at all.
For now let's just reflect on the fact that the announcement image has featured Zack Snyder's name in bigger words than the film title. Because at the end of things, that really does say something about all of this.