In 2021, Warner Bros. released Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a director’s cut of 2017’s Justice League. In 2022, the studio seems to regret ever doing such a thing.
In a recent report from Variety on DC’s lengthy struggle to find its own version of Marvel’s Kevin Feige, the magazine revealed that studio executives internally regret releasing Zack Snyder’s Justice League. According to Variety, Warner Bros. executives feel that releasing Zack Snyder’s Justice League (referred to as “the
Snyder cut” by fans) only emboldened fans to oppose Warner Bros. leadership at every turn.
The movement to “release the Snyder cut” came shortly after the theatrical release of the original Justice League. Zack Snyder, who had previously directed DC projects like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, was originally attached to direct the film, but following a family tragedy, he was replaced by The Avengers director Joss Whedon. The theatrical cut of Justice League was a major critical failure, and it performed poorly at the box office. Fans of Snyder wishing to see his vision for the film began the online campaign to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut. Recent reports suggest that the movement to see Snyder’s Justice League may have been bolstered by a now-dead advertising firm.
A few years later, in 2021, Warner Bros. released Zack Snyder’s Justice League, an alternate cut of the film that runs four hours and two minutes. This cut was overseen entirely by Snyder, without input from Whedon. According to Variety, Warner Bros.’ original intention was to appease fans with the “Snyder cut” they had demanded before getting back to its own DC plans. Instead, fans felt emboldened by the film’s release, leading to yet another online campaign, this time demanding that Warner Bros. #RestoreTheSnyderverse by releasing direct follow-ups and spinoffs to Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Since the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Warner Bros. has struggled with what to do regarding the film. Snyder has not returned to work on any DC projects, instead taking his original movies Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon to Netflix. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. heads have begun to deny the existence of the Synder cut altogether — when documentarian Leslie Iwerks asked to license clips from Zack Snyder’s Justice League, she was told that the 2017 cut of the film was the only one Warner Bros. was willing to acknowledge.
Both the original Justice League and Zack Snyder’s Justice League are currently streaming on HBO Max. Yet another alternate cut of the film, Zack Snyder’s Justice League: Justice is Gray, is also available on the service.
