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hbo max snyder cut justice league coming 2021
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What if the Snyder Cut of Justice League is actually great?

Jeffrey Lyles , , , , , , ,

The increasingly worst kept secret of the week was that the long rumored and whispered Snyder Cut of Justice League was finally going to be revealed to the public. Poor Richard Donner had to wait seemingly forever for his version of Superman II to get shown. In that case it was a curiosity and not nearly as enjoyable as the one released in theaters.

But with Zack Snyder there might be some reason to expect a better outcome. After all, the Director’s Cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice revealed an almost entirely different movie. One that actually had a plot for Henry Cavill’s Superman/Clark Kent that didn’t make him look like a bully harassing Batman. Lex Luthor’s subplot had stronger development that explained pivotal aspects of his plan to humiliate Superman. And Lois Lane got to flex her investigate reporting muscle in learning how Luthor set up Superman.

The Director’s Cut made Batman v Superman a vastly superior experience. There was no salvaging that Doomsday vs. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman fight though. That was just gratuitous and a poor decision to immediately kill off Superman.

All of which to say is I’m actually very interested in the HBO Max launch 2021 reveal of the Snyder cut of Justice League. I’m surprised it needs to wait another year to debut unless Warner Bros. is throwing out some more cash for some post production elements. If anything the Snyder cut will be a win because it shouldn’t feature a digitally removed mustache version of Cavill’s Superman with the odd lip CGI.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Snyder said while he’s never watched the version Joss Whedon completed, fans “probably saw one-fourth of what I did.” Snyder added, “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.“

Warner Bros. and HBO Max execs apparently believe in the project after watching a rough cut version back in February. Snyder said the final product could be a four-hour mini-epic or cut into six chapters. That would be an interesting direction especially as HBO Max is working on Green Lantern and Justice League Dark series. The Snyder Cut would complement that episodic format well.

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I do wonder if this year wouldn’t have been better to release it since we’re starved for new blockbusters even if we might have already seen half of it. Fan appreciation/reaction might trend more positive simply due to a lack of competition specifically from Marvel Studios setting the standard every three months.

My bigger question though is what happens if the Snyder Cut is good? Warner Bros. has largely backed off of the Justice League business and focused more on standalone films. Snyder reportedly set up Justice League as the first chapter of a larger story against Darkseid. If there’s enough interest would Warner Bros. consider moving forward with Snyder on a Justice League sequel?

The DC Extended Universe wouldn’t really need a lot of tinkering since the subsequent films largely didn’t follow up on Justice League events. Was it possible Warner Bros. has been slow to push out a new Superman and Justice League film until they saw how fans reacted to the Snyder Cut to restore him as the architect of this cinematic universe? It would explain the radio silence regarding another Cavill-led Superman film.

Timing on The Flash movie might also benefit from surging hype with the Snyder Cut. Considering the controversy with Ezra Miller’s role going forward, a soft reset in 2021 might be advantageous for Warner Bros.

What do you think? Excited about the Snyder Cut news or think this chapter of the DC Extended Universe has already sailed?

Photo Credit: Zack Snyder

 

 

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