Warning! Spoiler for Zack Snyder's Justice League below.
In a recent interview, Justice League director, Zack Snyder, detailed the existence of an alternate scene featuring Jared Leto’s Joker in a separate black-and-white cut of the film. Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a lengthier, modified version of the Justice League released in 2017, follows the titular group of superheroes as they confront the villains Darkseid and Steppenwolf. Currently, the updated director’s cut has garnered positive reviews overall, although some critics remain skeptical of the film’s four-hour runtime.
The original Justice League notoriously struggled through a difficult production. In the middle of shooting, Snyder left the project due to a family tragedy. Upon his exit, Warner Bros. hired Joss Whedon to supervise the rest of the film, as well as complete reshoots that offered a lighter, more humorous touch. During this time, Whedon rewrote multiple scenes and heavily transformed the darker narrative. Justice League debuted to dismal reviews, spurring both viewers and production crew to petition for a release of Snyder’s cut. Eventually, Warner Bros. approved the expansive new film, allowing for Snyder to dig into his initial vision of the DC universe.
While speaking to YouTuber Wonder Meg, Snyder revealed that a longer scene showcasing the Joker was indeed filmed for the black-and-white version of the movie. During the interview, Wonder Meg asked Snyder about Leto’s infamous line in the trailer, “We live in a society.” After questioning if it preceded a moment that was later cut from the film, Snyder provided greater context for its presence:
There was a version of that. What I was trying to do was, um, a second for the black-and-white version, for the charity version of the movie. I wanted to—there’s a second ending of the movie, of the Jared Leto scene, just slightly different. I included that line.
Snyder shared his reasons for altering the scene, noting that Leto’s improvisation initially played into a chillier, unruffled characterization of the Joker. Ultimately, however, he chose to proceed with an emotional unmasking of the iconic villain. “I also did very much like the broken, the tricked, the vulnerable Joker that you see in the movie,” he said. “And so it’s a trade-off of not getting the vulnerable Joker, you get the line and one other idea, which is cool, and I like it, but…” Snyder shrugged, explaining that he was drawn to the more complicated reimagining of the Joker.
As Zack Snyder’s Justice League releases to heightened buzz, it will be intriguing to witness what kind of mark his long-awaited opus will have on the DCEU. Other directors in the DC universe, including Wonder Woman’s Patty Jenkins, have rallied behind Snyder and his artistic vision. In the face of such anticipation, the film will undoubtedly incite divergent responses from viewers, all of whom harbor their own desires and expectations for the popular superheroes of the Justice League.
Source: Wonder Meg
