Persistence sometimes pays off.
Wednesday Zack Snyder announced the existence and planned release of the fabled “Snyder Cut” of 2017’s Justice League on HBO Max during a Q&A with fans following a livestreamed commentary on his film Man of Steel. “The Snyder Cut” consists of Snyder’s edit of the film, based on the version he was creating before exiting the production.
Snyder, his wife Debra, and Superman actor Henry Cavill danced around the question before Snyder dropped the bomb.
“I’m not really in control of it necessarily. I’ve said it exists, and I’ve been very clear about what I did with it, but it’s not really up to me,” Snyder said. “If it was up to me, I’d have already left it on a thumb drive in a bathroom somewhere,” Snyder joked, referencing rumors about how test footage for 2016’s Deadpool leaked to the public, prompting 20th Century Fox to eventually create the film after a long development hiatus.
“For me, having just watched Man of Steel, this for me was such a big moment because I remember when that first trailer dropped, which I hadn’t been privy to beforehand I just saw it before everyone else,” Cavill said, building to a larger point.
“I remember exactly what was going on in my life at the time. That whole experience…was a life-changer for me, it was definitely a fulcrum point that changed my life from what it was then to people now perceiving me as ‘famous’, whatever that means. It was for me a massive journey. I’ll remember those days until it’s the very end for me. I think it would be fun to have worked with the trilogy a bit differently. I’d love to see a version of Justice League without the mustache,” joked Cavill, currently sporting a mustache and stubble on the livestream.
“I’d love to see that version of Superman without the mustache, or without the implication of a mustache,” agreed Snyder.
“It’s a shame we never saw it come to fruition the way Zack wanted it to be,” added co-producer Debra Snyder.
“Like I tell you, I have it, so we just have to find a way to show it someday,” remarked Snyder. “I can’t show the movie right now, there’s still work to do, but there is this,” quipped Snyder before showing an image announcing Zack Snyder’s Justice League on HBO Max in 2021.
#ReleaseTheSnyderCut. Only on HBO Max 2021. @ZackSnyder https://t.co/cfXCK1B6pA pic.twitter.com/hqeA9i7tTL
— HBO Max (@hbomax) May 20, 2020
The new WarnerMedia streaming service debuts May 27.
Snyder was the original director of Justice League before exiting the production partway through due to the death of his daughter. Justice League was finished by Avengers director Joss Whedon, a process which included extensive reshoots that changed numerous scenes and even several characters.
Justice League fans have clamored to view the “Snyder Cut,” as it’s been dubbed, almost since the finished film’s theatrical release, which was met with poor reviews from fans and critics alike owing in large part to the film’s disjointed, unfinished feel.
The hashtag #releasethesnydercut has been a fixture on Twitter for years, with zealous fans sharing it and posting the sentiment and hashtag to hundreds of unrelated posts. Comic book creator Rob Liefeld even echoed the sentiment, professing his admiration for Snyder’s directorial oeuvre including Justice League’s preceding films Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
In 2018, a billboard bearing the message “Release the Snyder Cut” was erected in San Diego during Comic-Con International: San Diego, paid for by Justice League fans.
Industry insiders have debated the existence of the so-called “Snyder Cut”, with some saying not enough footage from Snyder’s original vision exists to create his film as intended. Despite this, WB/HBO Max have apparently compiled enough footage from the previous and existing movie along with Snyder’s help to finally give fans the version of the film (or a version of the film) as Snyder initially intended it.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League debuts in 2021 on HBO Max.