Nearly three years after the announcement that Zack Snyder was stepping away from Justice League, it's finally been announced that the Snyder Cut is coming to HBO Max. In the time since Joss Whedon's theatrical cut of Justice League hit theaters, there's been endless debate about the existence of a Zack Snyder cut of the movie, whether or not it would be better, and if Warner Bros. would ever even consider releasing it, and now everyone has an answer: it exists and it's coming.
Zack Snyder completed 100% of principal photography and several months of post-production before leaving Justice League in the wake of a family tragedy, with Joss Whedon taking his place for what was marketed as minor reshoots to add connective tissue and complete Snyder's original vision. In the three years since his departure, we've learned the rewrites and reshoots were far more extensive than indicated and the primary objective was to alter the movie from Snyder's original story plan and lighten the tone. The final two-hour blend of Snyder and Whedon was basically an entirely different movie with only superficial similarities to Snyder's original three-and-a-half-hour superhero epic.
During the Q&A following Snyder's live-commentary of Man of Steel on the Vero social media platform, the Justice League director was asked by a fan when his cut of Justice League would be released, to which Snyder responded with the news that's sure to break the internet: Snyder Cut, now titled Zack Snyder's Justice League is being released on HBO Max in 2021.
Snyder gave heartfelt thanks to fans in an HBO Max press release: “I want to thank HBO Max and Warner Brothers for this brave gesture of supporting artists and allowing their true visions to be realized. Also a special thank you to all of those involved in the SnyderCut movement for making this a reality.”
Warner Bros. Chairman Toby Emmerich, who oversaw Whedon's changes to Snyder's original vision, is also quoted saying “Thanks to the efforts of a lot people, we’re excited to bring fans this highly anticipated version of Justice League. This feels like the right time to share Zack’s story, and HBO Max is the perfect platform for it. We’re glad the creative planets aligned, allowing us to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut.”
According to THR, the project could arrive as a six-part mini-series or a four-hour director's cut and will cost upwards of $20 million to complete. The original cast and crew is also expected to assemble to complete post-production work, including some additional photography.
Calls for the Snyder Cut dominated headlines and social media for over two years after Justice League's release, and after the #RelesaeTheSnyderCut rallying cry amassed nearly 1 million tweets with the help of cast members like Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, and Ray Fisher, and trended #1 on Twitter after the two-year anniversary of its November 17th, 2017 release, Snyder got a call from his agent who told him HBO Max wanted to talk about finally getting it released.
It's been a long road, and it's certainly not over yet, with more work to complete the movie for its 2021 release, but the stars aligned to get Snyder back in the director's chair in the universe he created. With this move by HBO Max, the sky is the limit for what happens next as demand will surely turn its attention to David Ayer's cut of Suicide Squad and start questioning: is there more DCEU in Snyder's future?