Artist Jay Oliva has confirmed that Zack Snyder had a complete cut of Justice League. It would be quite the understatement to say that production on the Warner Bros. superhero ensemble tentpole was tumultuous. While it was plagued by several issues, arguably its biggest controversy was the director switch after original helmsman Zack Snyder stepped down from directing duties due to a personal tragedy, resulting in former Marvel Studios director Joss Whedon stepping in and overseeing the reshoots.

Calls for the release of the Snyder Cut began immediately after the film rolled out in theaters last November. For a while, it was a cause that united all DC fans, considering how significantly different the final cut was from the earlier trailers for the film. Unfortunately, the campaign wasn't without its fair share of drama, especially after fans of Snyder denounced the original creator of the campaign last month. Now, after months of deliberation whether or not the Snyder Cut really exist, a Justice League artist confirms that Snyder completed a cut of the movie before his high-profile exit.

Taking it to his official Twitter account, Oliva shared some insight on the mysterious Synder Cut, finally confirming that it does exist as "Zack isn’t the kind of director who creates the film in the edit bay. It’s all planned out meticulously from beginning to end. That’s how MoS and BvS was done." He then continued, saying: "what I meant with 99% is that all of the scenes Zack envisioned was shot and exists in one form or another. Of course there are still vfx that is unfinished but I never inferred that the film was 99% done. Rather that Zack’s vision was all shot except for a few reshoots planned." 

Considering the confusion as to what the mysterious footage really consists of stemming from some fans' back-and-forth with Mark Hughes - who is insisting that the Snyder Cut doesn't exist - Oliva said that fans "are responding to people saying that the Snydercut (prior to Whedon’s involvement) does not exist and is not a cohesive story because Zack left. It may not be 100% polished but all of the planned scenes were shot and edited into a full timeline." 

To be fair, Snyder's followers seem to have an inkling that there wasn't a complete Snyder Cut. But considering that the filmmaker finished Justice League's principal photography, there's a good chance that the movie he intended to make was almost done despite the lack of VFX or additional photography, as Oliva mentioned. More than a finished film, fans are more interested in how the director would've progressed the characters he introduced to the DCEU, particularly Superman - whose scenes were mostly reshot, as indicated by Henry Cavill's odd upper lip (the result of his mustache being removed via CGI).

Snyder continuously dropping bits and pieces of information regarding his canceled five-film DCEU blueprint over the last few months only intensified people's desire to see his original cut of Justice League - especially since it seems to have included pivotal story details connected to Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as setting up the narrative for Justice League Part 2. Unfortunately, with Warner Bros. and DCEU looking to veer away from Snyder's work, only time will tell if the so-called Snyder Cut will ever be released to the public.

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Source: Jay Oliva

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