Zack Snyder never really believed that his cut of 鈥淛ustice League鈥� would see the light of day. It has technically existed since January 2017, but it wasn鈥檛 in any shape to be released. It was four hours, in black and white, had storyboards where visual effects were supposed to go and an unfinished score.
鈥淲hen I finished it, I said, oh well, no one will ever see this movie,鈥� he said.
Although he鈥檚 officially credited as the director of the DC superhero mashup with Gal Gadot鈥檚 Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck鈥檚 Batman and Jason Momoa鈥檚 Aquaman that hit
The Snyders had mostly disconnected from the whole ordeal, but fans wouldn鈥檛 stop asking for The Snyder Cut. And their gestures kept getting more and more elaborate: Planes with #ReleasetheSnyderCut banners were flown over the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank and during the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. They even leased a billboard in Time鈥檚 Square. Over the years, the hashtag became so ubiquitous, it even turned into a bit of a joke. Why on earth would a studio pay for a redo of an epic disaster?
Well, a few things happened: There was a change of leadership at the studio and suddenly everyone was in search of content for their new streaming service HBO Max. Warner Bros. Pictures Group chair Toby Emmerich asked the Snyders if they could release what they had.
鈥淲e were like, it鈥檚 really rough,鈥� Deborah Snyder said. But they saw an opportunity to finish what they started, and she got to work putting together a pitch. It was somewhat familiar territory for the former advertising executive but also in many ways entirely unprecedented.
鈥淚 think the biggest challenge was to convince HBO Max that it was worth the money to do it...at the end of the day, for them, it鈥檚 a business deal. And they if they鈥檙e going to spend X, they want to make sure they鈥檙e getting a return on that business,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd with a movie that had already come out we needed to also show everyone that this was a different animal. This wasn鈥檛 the same thing.鈥�
The fans were a crucial component. For HBO Max, it meant possible subscriptions. And the Snyders got the go-ahead to finish the score, add some 2,650 visual effects and film an additional scene with Jared Leto鈥檚 Joker. It even proved beneficial that everything shut down because of COVID: It freed up the visual effects houses that are usually booked up years in advance.
The result, 鈥淶ack Snyder鈥檚 Justice League,鈥� debuts on HBO Max on Thursday. It鈥檚 not just a director鈥檚 cut. It鈥檚 a whole new movie. And, it seems, even critics have gotten on board. As of Wednesday, it was sitting at 78% on Rotten Tomatoes 鈥� a vast improvement over the original鈥檚 40%.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the journey of the team coming together. To be able to explore each member of that team and who they are and what their struggles are in this format? We wouldn鈥檛 have been able to do that (for
Deborah Snyder said that it 鈥渟till doesn鈥檛 feel super real.鈥� It鈥檚 mere weeks since they鈥檝e finished it. And it鈥檚 also the closing of a chapter. Although the Snyders were some of the main architects of the modern DC universe going back to 2013鈥檚 鈥淢an of Steel鈥� and behind the casting of people like Gadot and Momoa, they are moving on to different things, like Netflix鈥檚 鈥淎rmy of the Dead,鈥� which comes out in May. And the DC world is going on without them.
The Snyders remain immensely grateful for the fans, but not just because of their passion for getting the Snyder Cut released. After their daughter鈥檚 death, they decided to be public about the fact that it was suicide and to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (ASFP).
鈥淲e felt like we were public enough that we could make a statement. A lot of times with mental health, there鈥檚 such a stigma and people are afraid to talk about it or embarrassed,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hrough that journey with Autumn, we very many times felt the same way.鈥�
What they didn鈥檛 ever expect was that the fans would also jump on that cause. In the end, fans contributed some $500,000 to the ASFP.
鈥淭hat I think touched us more than anything else,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, you know, 鈥楯ustice League鈥� is a movie. It means a lot. And the characters mean a lot to a lot of people. But actually helping people...especially people that are struggling? To me, that means so much more.鈥�
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AP Entertainment reporter Ryan Pearson contributed from Los Angeles
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
