Connie Nielsen says she gave the Justice League Snyder Cut her blessing after being assured it would restore a stunt she shot for the Amazon chapter. Nielsen, who got her big break in America after appearing alongside Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino and Charlize Theron in The Devils Advocate, is best known for her role as Lucilla, the daughter of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, in Gladiator. She's also appeared in three DC Extended Universe movies as Queen Hippolyta, portraying the Amazon in Wonder Woman, Justice League, and Wonder Woman 1984.
The actor's role in Justice League was reduced, though, after director Zack Snyder was forced to drop out during post-production, and replacement director Joss Whedon cut the Amazon chapter of the film down to slim the running time. The movie as a whole was a victim of multiple cuts and ended up failing at the box office after the end result was confusing and uneven in tone. Snyder, however, has been given the opportunity to complete his original vision, producing a four-part version of Justice League to be released on Warner Bros. streaming service HBO Max in March 2021. And Nielsen says it'll restore the Amazon chapter.
Speaking to THR, Nielsen says when Synder called her up to get her blessing for his version of the Justice League she wanted some assurances first. Not only did she make sure Snyder committed to restoring the Amazon chapter to include all the footage they shot, but she also got confirmation that one stunt which sees Hippolyta running up a wall would be included. After Snyder confirmed his film would fulfill those requirements, Nielsen was happy to give it her blessing. The Danish actor also calls the cuts made to the theatrical film "really sad," adding that she believes they're the reason it's "less cohesive." You can read her full comments below:
"Zack had already called me to ask if I would be okay with a reissue of the film with changes. And I asked him, "Well, will you bring back the Amazon chapter the way you had written it and had filmed it?" And he said, "Absolutely." And then I said, "And Zack, will you also bring back my quite incredible stunt, running up the walls?" And he said, "You got it." So I said, "Yeah, definitely. You’ve got my blessing. Absolutely." What was really sad was how much stuff we filmed that wasn’t in the film. And I think that’s part of what made [the theatrical] Justice League less cohesive as a viewing experience. The intent was not the same during the editing as it was during shooting."
Nielsen's revelation is further confirmation that Snyder will not be compromising with his version of Justice League. The restoration of the full Amazon chapter hints at a much more coherent backstory for the film's main plot and helps provide more context for what's at stake for the superhero team. As for the stunt Nielsen teases, there is a hint of it in the Snyder Cut trailer released by the director in November, and it promises to be epic.
Whether the restored scenes help to repair the broken movie that was Justice League remains to be seen, but it's clear Nielsen is firmly in Snyder's corner. She's one of many stars of the film who have expressed their excitement to see the original vision turned into reality, which is a good sign for audiences who were bitterly disappointed by what they saw in theaters. And with the HBO Max release just a few months away, perhaps fans could get a look at the new trailer Snyder has teased, and an official release date, sooner rather than later.
Source: THR
